Boy, I'm Hot For You
by PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: Cameron Doom and Johnny Storm were meant for each other--at least she thought so. Now there's obstacles for them to overcome...will they end up together in the end?
1. Flirting Gets You Everywhere

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Another story from Quzilla moved over here.**

**I took the liberty of writing down the cast list for you.**

****

**CHARACTERS**

**Name**: Cameron Doom  
**Age**: 22

Cameron and Johnny have a non-exclusive relationship. They've known each other since they were little, and three years ago, Cameron realized that she was the only child of none other than Victor Von Doom. Her mother died, and left her a letter explaining everything. Johnny and Cameron had just started their "relationship", and now Cameron's living with her biological father, and figuring out her feelings for Johnny.

**Name**: Johnny Storm  
**Age**: 23

Johnny is the poster boy for everything naughty. He and Cameron have been friends forever, and after he found out she was related to Victor, he was more on board with the friends-with-benfits-open-relationship idea. Becoming the Human Torch ended up helping him in the girl department, but in the end, he thinks he may just want one, but is Cameron fed up with him enough not to take him back?

**Name**: Tara Morgan  
**Age**: 22

Tara is head over heels for Johnny, especially after he becomes the Human Torch. She and Cameron used to be best friends, but with Johnny's fickle nature, and Tara's persuasiveness, can Cameron and Johnny survive together in the end?

**Name**: Victor Von Doom  
**Age**: 40

Victor found out he was a father a long time ago when he knocked up Cameron's mother when he was 18 and she was 17, but only three years ago did he have to step up to his responsibility. Now he has strange new powers given to him by the cloud in space, and he has to care for his daughter on top of it all.

**Name**: Reed Richards  
**Age**: 28

Reed is a little scatter-brained. He wants to figure out how to turn them all back, especially Ben. After the cloud incident in space, Reed has been even more closed-minded, but at the same time, now he has time to reconnect with Sue.

**Name**: Susan Storm  
**Age**: 27

Susan is still in love with Reed, but Reed's oblivious. After the accident, she became the Invisible Woman, and now she and Reed are reconnecting.

**Name**: Ben Grimm  
**Age**: 28

Ben became The Thing after the accident in space, and now he has to cope with his new form. Things seem to be really bad for Ben, but he's still the go-to-guy.

****

Cameron Doom was unlike most kids who'd found out that their father had billions. She was actually not looking forward to it. Especially when he took her to work everyday, and didn't let her do much of anything. How fun is that? On the bright side, she worked with Sue--well under Sue--and at least she knew her since Cameron and Johnny had an on and off thing going on.

Cameron's mother, Gail, had died three years ago in a car accident, and Cameron had survived it. She had found out the name of her biological father that morning, and was so not happy that Victor Von Doom had knocked her mother up 22 years ago and then taken off, only to fund her secretly through it all. Now she had to live with him, and work with him. And today--today Reed, an old rival of her father's, was coming to pitch an idea. In fact, Cameron and Sue walked into the room just as Reed had said something about it all just being business.

"He's right, Ben--it is just business." Sue said, and Cameron popped her gum.

"Hey, Dad." She told him.

Victor took a breath, annoyed that she was doing it yet again, even after all of the talks they'd had about proper procedure in meetings.

"I think you both know my director of genetic research, Susan Storm. And my daughter...Cameron Doom." Victor introduced, and while Susan greeted Ben warmly and then turned on the cold exterior to Reed, Victor started being his happily, rude self, and told Reed he'd get 25 percent, leaving Victor with the other 75 percent. Reed shook on it, and then left.

"Dad, that was kind of mean." Cameron told him.

Victor shot her a look. "How many times do I have to tell you that popping your gum loudly is unprofessional?"

Sue left the room as a Leonard walked in, and looked at Victor. Cameron wasn't quite ready to leave yet, so she plopped in a chair and popped her gum loudly in spite of her father.

"If Reed's right, this little trip could double our stock offerings." Victor told Leonard, ignoring Cameron's blatant cry for attention.

"And if he's not?" Leonard asked.

"Reed's always right. Good thing he doesn't always know what he's got." Victor explained, and then looked at Cameron, who shot him a smile. "Cameron--go follow them. Show them around."

"God, have a cow." She told her father.

Cameron sighed and went after them, not taking the elevator. She knew that Sue was prolly telling Ben that Johnny was going to pilot the mission. Liking the idea of seeing Johnny, she went out onto the ledge of one of the buildings, and listened to Reed and Ben talk about Johnny, who was currently riding his motorcycle and kissing a cute girl in a car all at once. Though Cameron didn't like that, she did like her man on his motorcycle.

"I can't do it. I cannot do it." Ben said, turning around after looking at Johnny through the binoculars.

"External S.R.B.'s, orbital system engines. It's just like the shuttle he flew--" Reed began.

"No!" Ben interrupted. "I cannot take orders from the underwear model."

Reed sighed. "Oh, come on, now."

"That wing nut washed out of NASA for sneaking two Victoria Secret wannabees into a simulator." Ben said, and Cameron laughed to herself.

"Youthful high spirits." Reed replied.

"They crashed it into a wall. A flight _simulator_." Ben added.

Reed sighed again. "When have I ever asked you to do something you absolutely thought you could not do?"

"Five times." Ben replied without hesitation, even holding up his fingers.

"I had it at four." Reed said as Ben walked away towards the stairs.

"Well this makes five!" Ben told him.

Cameron smiled a little to herself, and then went down the stairs to go and find Johnny and get ready. She got her special suit on first, and then once she'd found Johnny, she smiled.

"Hey there, Hot Shot." She said, and he smirked.

"That suit looks very hot on you." Johnny replied. "I bet it looks hotter off."

Cameron shrugged. "Maybe. You'd have to find out, now wouldn't you?"

"Would you let me?" Johnny asked, stepping next to her, his hands on her hips.

Cameron bit her lip. "I always do, but right now isn't a good time for me. I'd have to fit you into my schedule."

Johnny smiled, his blue suit on, and unzipped her suit a little.

"I have five minutes, right now." Johnny whispered.

Cameron kissed him swiftly. "I don't."

She pulled away, leaving the suit unzipped a bit, and then she smiled when Johnny grabbed the digital camera.

"Where's Ben?" Johnny asked.

Cameron shrugged. "Prolly getting ready wherever Reed is."

Johnny nodded and so Cameron followed him, and watched a bit--she was good at that.

"Captain on the bridge!" Johnny said.

Ben came to a tension, and Johnny snapped the picture, walking towards him, Cameron following.

"Digital camera--$254. Memory Stick--$59. The look on your hard-ass former C.O.'s face when he finds out he's your junior officer...priceless." Johnny told him.

Ben walked over to him and grabbed his collar, Cameron grabbing the camera so it wouldn't get hurt, and snapping a few pictures of herself making various 'come hither' faces as Ben zipped up Johnny's suit the rest of the way.

Johnny chuckled. "Thank you. That's so sweet."

"I can handle this ship." Ben said. "I can even handle Mr. Blond Ambition. But I don't know if I should be flying to doing _Swan Lake_ in these suits." Ben held up the suit. "I mean who the Hell came up with these?"

"Victor did." Sue replied, coming out of nowhere.

Cameron nodded. "The synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to your body's individual needs."

"See, now that means it keeps the hot stuff hot and it keeps the cool things cool." Johnny said, and Ben rolled his eyes.

Reed walked over to Sue while Cameron took a rather risque picture of herself, her suit open enough that when flipping through the pictures later, Johnny would be very happy--every boy wants to see his girlfriend's bra.

"Wow. Fantastic." Reed said.

Now everyone knew about Reed and Sue's past. Sue thought Reed might have been talking about her, but he immediately grabbed the suit.

"Material made from self-regulating, unstable molecules. I've been working on a formula for this." Reed explained.

Johnny and Cameron exchanged glances while Sue and Ben exchanged looks too, and then Sue brushed it off.

"Great minds think alike." Sue said.

She handed Ben his suit, and Ben thanked her sweetly, and then she threw the suit at Reed and walked away. Cameron laughed, and then tossed Johnny the camera.

"Have fun with those pictures, Hot Shot." Cameron said, and Johnny flipped through a few.

"Daddy like." He smirked.

Cameron winked and then followed Sue to put the other suit over the blue ones, and then they all gathered together to follow Victor onto the ship.

"E.T.A. until cosmic event--nine hours." Victor announced as they walked.

"If you're good, maybe next time Daddy'll let you drive." Johnny mocked Ben.

"You keep talkin', and there won't be a next time." Ben replied, and Cameron smiled and followed them.

Sue and Reed hung behind for a moment before Sue continued on and entered another room.

"We can monitor the cloud's approach and observe the tests from here." Sue explained.

"Is it safe?" Ben asked.

"The shields on the station should protect us." Reed replied.

Ben looked at him. "Should?"

"What's the matter, Ben? Getting Paranoid in your old age?" Victor asked.

"My Dad's an ass." Cameron whispered to Johnny.

Johnny smirked. "And you have a nice one."

Cameron laughed. "You don't stop, do you?"

"Not until I get what I want." Johnny told her.

"Well you can't get what you want here." Cameron said, getting up and following Reed and Ben as Sue went off with Victor.

"You are a tease." Johnny told her, Reed splitting off from them.

Cameron shrugged, and then watched as Johnny helped Ben into the suit and let him go to reel stuff in before she spoke up.

"If my Dad proposes to your sister, and she says 'yes'--you're going to be my Step Uncle. You realize that, right?" Cameron asked.

Johnny chuckled. "It's kind of dirty, right?"

Cameron rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "I'm going to go and check on Sue."

Johnny nodded, and on her way, Reed ran past her, and so she hurried after him.

"The cloud is accelerating." Reed said.

"What? I thought we had like seven more hours." Cameron told him.

After checking the machines, it was obvious that they had only moments left, and so they had to reel Ben in. While Reed ran off to do that, Victor tried to close the shields, and so Sue and Cameron went off to try and help Ben. The storm hit, Ben the hardest of all. It gave them all side effects that would change their lives forever…


	2. Chocolate and Symptoms

I woke up the day after the cloud hit, and I sighed a little. I didn't really like hospitals all that much, and I really wished that someone would have been here when I woke up--wished Dad was here.

"Miss Doom?" The Doctor asked.

I looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"I was just making sure you were conscious." He said.

I nodded. "So you can run off and tell Dad his little girl's okay?" I asked.

The doctor sensed my resentment, and I sighed. Dad had started to be fatherly. Sure, I annoyed the Hell out of him, but then again, I wasn't good for his image. I was his illegitimate daughter, and though he'd known for years, now he had to take care of me, and I was sure he didn't like it.

Trying not to feel too bad for myself, I got up and wandered down the halls, trying to find Johnny's room. When I did, he was still sleeping, and so I sat down on the edge of his bed and then I saw a hot nurse come in, and I sighed. Yeah, Johnny got the hot nurse. I'm sure it was planned.

"He looks like he's well rested." She said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"So who are you?" She asked.

I smiled. "Cameron Doom. My dad's Victor--he...signs your paychecks."

"Oh." She said. "Wow. I guess I should have recognized you from the papers. You know him?"

I nodded as she pointed to Johnny.

"He's my boyfriend." I replied.

Sure, not wholly true, but damn close enough.

"Oh." She said, and then checked on his vitals and left the room.

"Wake up, Hot Shot." I told Johnny, sitting on top of him.

Johnny chuckled a little. "You told off that nurse, Cammie."

I shrugged. "Hell yes, I did. I just want you all to myself."

Johnny chuckled a little more and tickled me. I started laughing, and he turned us over, looking at me as I smiled.

"I kind of like you when you want me." He said.

I shrugged. "Well don't get used to it. Sooner or later you're going to tell the nurse about our arrangement, and then you're going to do something with her."

"I know the rules of this, Cammie. Don't worry." He told me.

I nodded. "I know you know the rules--but that doesn't mean that you'll follow them."  
He sighed. "I will not have sex with anyone. I promise. If I do that, the deal's off. I don't mind just sleeping with you, Cammie."

I kissed him, sitting up a little, and then I pulled away.

"Let's go and explore, shall we? I've never been in quarantine before." I said.  
Johnny smiled and got up. "Let's go."

We left his room, hand in hand, and walked down the hallway a little bit. There were a couple floors, and we figured we should start on the bottom floor first. Lucky me--there was a kitchen. I dragged Johnny into it, and was happy to see they were making desert for lunch.

"Chocolate." I said happily, and dipped my finger into the bowl of melted chocolate, sucking it off. "And it's good."

"Other people have to eat that." Johnny told me.

I nodded and got more on my finger. "Like you."

I cocked my head to one side, flirting a little more, and Johnny smirked as I dabbed a little on my lips and then put my finger up to his mouth.

"I need to be taught how to eat chocolate." I said.

Johnny chuckled and sucked the chocolate off of my finger, before he kissed me, sucking on my lips a bit. Then he stuck his fingers into the chocolate and touched my neck. I made a shocked face, as he drew a line down to my sternum.

"Did I do that?" Johnny asked.

I gave him a look, standing there in my tank top and shorts.

"Well now you have to clean up your mess, Hot Shot." I told him.

He smiled. "Gladly, Princess."

He licked my neck at first, and then he sucked on it, his lips and tongue traveling down to my sternum before the chef came in and cleared his throat.

"He spilled chocolate." I said, and Johnny just gave a smile as I took him by the hand and led him out of the kitchen, both of us laughing the entire way.

"I loved the look on his face." Johnny said. "That was truly classic."

I nodded. "Yeah, it was."

"Hey, you two." Sue said.

We both looked up to see her, and she looked at Johnny.

"Hey." Johnny replied.

"You have something on your lip." Sue told him.

I looked at him and nodded, wanting to get it off, but he licked it off all by himself.

"Thanks for telling me, Cammie." Johnny said playfully.

I smirked and shrugged. "I was going to get it off."

"Darn, Sue--you ruined the surprise." Johnny told her.

Sue shook her head, but she smiled too. She knew that we were playful, and she respected our space. She did look like she had something to say though, and so I turned to Johnny.

"You want to go get me a chocolate bar from the vending machine down the Hall?" I asked.

Johnny sighed. "Fine...have your girl talk."

He kissed me swiftly, and then walked out of the room, and Sue looked at me.

"How are you?" Sue asked.

I shrugged. "Okay. You?"

"Fine, I guess. Your father keeps sending me flowers." Sue said.

I nodded. "He would."

"You okay?" Sue asked.

"Not really." I told her.

I motioned for her to sit down, and she did. We were in a room for lounging and reading, and I leaned into the couch.

"He hasn't sent me a single thing, that's all. No flowers. No cards. No, nothing." I explained.

Sue sighed. "I'm sorry, Cam. I didn't realize I was taking your father away from you. I'm not trying to."

I smiled at her. "I know. I know my father has absolutely no chance with you, and yet--yet he tries. He hates being second at anything. I think it's why he left."

"I'm sure he was just scared." Sue said, taking my hand.

I squeezed it. Whenever I needed something, Sue was there for me. It had always been that way. She knew when I needed to unload, knew when I needed to just have someone there to talk to me while I was feeling down--she was like my older sister, and I loved her for that.

I sighed. "I think he left because my mother picked living with her parents over living with him. She didn't want to move out with him. She wanted to stay and be taken care of. Dad was so driven--wanted to go out and conquer the world--and he did that. He did that, and he did it without her. He gave her money every month, and she put it away in a savings account I didn't know existed. She told him that she never loved him--just wanted a baby. And you know what? She loved him every second of every day."

"You should tell him that." Sue told me.

I shrugged. "I don't think it'll matter. I'm not my mother."

I stood up and Sue smiled at me.

"That's right...you're not your mother. You can tell him that you love him." Sue explained.

I smiled a little and nodded, Johnny showing back up with three different candy bars. Sue kissed my forehead and left, giving her brother a look, and he shrugged.

"I have no idea what her problem is." Johnny told me.

I kissed him, and then I took the Milky Way from him.

"What was that for?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I'm apologizing for having to run off."

****

I knocked on Dad's door, and Leonard came and opened it.

"Oh." He said.

"Wow. Could you sound less enthusiastic?" I asked.

He looked me in the eye. "Hello, Cameron."

I sighed. "You can go ahead and let me in now."

Leonard nodded, and I came inside and saw Dad sitting in a chair, looking at the fire. I didn't quite know what he was up to, but he looked deep in thought.

"Hey, Dad." I told him.

He looked at me. "Hey."

I sighed. "I came to see you."

"It's good to know you're okay." Dad said.

I sat down on the couch and looked at my knees. I wasn't quite sure what to say to him, but I knew that whatever I did say, I had to say it.

"I need you." I told him.

He looked at me. "What?"

I nodded and looked him in the eye. "I need you. I know Mom never had the courage to say it, or the courage to ever tell you how much she loved you, but I do. You're my father. You wanted to be part of my life and Mom kept you shut out. I won't shut you out, Dad."

He smiled a little. "Thanks, Cameron."

I nodded, and then snuggled up against him. He was weirded out by it at first, but he embraced me back, resting his head on mine. We knew that we were going to get into spats. We knew that this moment we had going was going to be over soon, but we also knew where we stood. Away from the cameras, and the company--he was just my Dad.

"I hope you're okay." I told him. "I saw the wound."

Dad nodded. "I'm fine. You know...I should have sent you flowers."

I shrugged. "That's okay, Dad. You have me--you don't have to keep me by sending me flowers. Though, some lilies might be nice every once in a while."  
Dad chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Victor?" Leonard asked.

"Yeah?" Dad answered.

"The phone is for you." Leonard said.

I sighed and got off of Dad, getting up and smiling.

"I should get back to Johnny anyways. I just kind of left him with no explanation." I told him.

It was in that moment that Dad got that look in his eyes again. I was bad for his image, but I knew that deep down under that steely exterior that he had, he loved me, and respected me enough to make my own decisions.

"I will see you later, Cameron." Dad said, and it was a soft command, not a pleasant suggestion.

I smiled. "I love you too, Daddy."

I left the room and walked around a little before I went back to the Mess Hall, sitting at a table by myself, Johnny showing up and sitting across from me.

"I was looking for you everywhere, Princess." Johnny told me. "Wow--I'm liking the new look."

"What?" I asked.

"You went to go and dye your hair?" He asked me. "I mean it was a little streaky earlier, but I thought it was just a sun, side effect. You didn't have to dye the lighter hair white."

"What?" I asked again. "Seriously, Johnny, give me more to go on here."

Johnny held up the water glass, and I gasped. I now had a streak of white hair on my right side, and I touched it. It was soft like the rest of my hair, but so white. Must be an aftermath of the cloud. That spot had looked a little lighter earlier. What was going on?


	3. Powers

I woke up on the third day and looked around, holding my head and smiling a little. Three days since the storm. Three days being cooped up and looked at like science experiments.

"What are you doing here, Johnny?" I asked.

Johnny shrugged. "Peeping."

I smirked. "You could have waited until I was awake and asked."

"All I have to do is ask?" Johnny asked.

I sat up and Johnny stood up, me sitting on the side of the bed now, my feet dangling over.

"I think my button just came undone magically." I told him playfully, unbuttoning the top button.

Johnny cocked his head to one side. "You sure about that? You seem to be doing all the work for this so-called magic."

I unbuttoned the shirt the rest of the way, and then I opened it up for him.

"Oops. My shirt came off." I said, and stood up, letting it fall off.

Johnny smiled and kissed me, and I kissed him back. I sat on the bed, laying back, both of us resituating, him on top of me. His lips traveled to my neck, and I smiled as I ran my fingers through his hair, and then I giggled a little as he nibbled on my collarbone and then his lips traveled a little farther down and to the left, nibbling a bit there as well.

"I kind of really enjoy this." Johnny said.

I nodded. "I bet you do."

Johnny kissed my lips softly. "I really like the time we spend together."

"Even when we're not having sex?" I asked, and he knew that I knew that sex was not all we had, but it was definitely becoming the funnest part.

He kissed me again, only gently this time. "Especially then."

"So why didn't my Dad show up all these three days?" I asked suddenly, not wanting to ruin this moment between us, but really wanting to know.

Johnny sighed, and pushed the hair out of my face. "I don't know, Cammie."

"I guess it's prolly because he doesn't want to have a daughter. I can't really blame him, you know?" I asked. "I mean after the talk, I feel like I've pushed him away more."

Johnny sighed and kissed my collarbone, running his fingers along my bra straps.

"When did we suddenly get so serious?" Johnny asked.

I kissed him. "I dunno. You wanna blow out of here and do something?"

"There's the Alps right outside." He said.

I sighed. "I didn't mean go outside. I would love to break the rules with you, Johnny, like old times, but Victor's my Dad now. Always was, but you know the drill now."

"This bites." He said.

I nodded, and ran my fingers along the bottom of his shirt as he laid on top of me, smirking a little.

"But hey--it's my private little room, and I'm not feeling sick. And you're all hot, and--" I began, but he stopped me, his mouth covering mine.

I tugged on his shirt, and we broke apart so his shirt could go over his head, and then a doctor came in and cleared his throat.

"I need to check Miss Doom's vitals." The doctor said, and Johnny pulled his shirt back on and I sighed, covering myself up by grabbing my shirt off of the floor and buttoning my shirt back up.

Johnny winked at me. "I think she's fully operational."

I gave him a look. "You're a hothead. A stud and a sexy man, but a hothead."

"And it turns you on." Johnny said, and left my room, the doctor pretending to be oblivious, but that conversation made him uncomfortable.

I got fully dressed and went outside when the doctor was done checking the vitals on the machine, and I sat next to Sue, who smiled.

"You look good today." She said.

I smiled. "Thanks. You know where Johnny went?"

She shook her head. "Prolly out with some nurse."

"Sounds like Johnny." I said.

"You know, I know I said I would stay out of it, cause it wasn't any of my business, but um...why do you want an open relationship with my brother?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Because I love him. I mean we've been friends since we were in elementary school, and I guess our mutual like turned to genuine feelings of care, and some...lust...but I mean I can't have him if I don't share him. Plus it's been three years since we put this dating thing to the test, no matter how non-exclusive--I mean, you get used to it."

"Why not make him chase you?" Sue asked.

I sighed. "Cause he'd grow tired of the chase. He'd move onto someone that would give him what he wanted."

"You deserve better than my brother, Cam." Sue said.

I smiled. "Thanks, Sue. I'm sure Dad would say the same thing if he knew."

"Miss Doom?" A man asked.

I looked up and saw Michael, the head of Dad's quarantine department.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Your father would like to see you." He told me.

I nodded and he walked off, and I sighed, looking at Sue.

"You know, sometimes I wish that he would just--make it seem like he cared outside of sending his people to talk to me and summon me." I said.

"He's getting used to the idea of having a kid." Sue told me.

I sighed. "He's had three years to get used to the idea."

Sue nodded, and I went in search of my father.

****

"God, you have things set up." I told him, sitting at the table.

"You feeling okay?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"You know...I heard some things today." Dad said.

I poked some chicken on my plate. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "I heard that you and Johnny were practically going at it in your hospital room."

I sighed. "If this is about your image, Dad."

"No, this is about your image--which yes, in turn is my image." Dad said. "Is that a streak?"

I nodded, and pushed it behind my ear. "Yeah, um...I think it may have something to do with the cloud. Ever since we got back, it's been white."

"Oh. Well, I don't want you to be all over Johnny anymore, Cameron." Dad said, changing the subject.

"Dad, I was dating Johnny before you went and decided to be with Sue." I protested.

"When I marry Sue, Johnny will be your Step Uncle." Dad said.

I shrugged. "I really don't care."

Dad banged his fist on the table, and I looked around as things began to flicker. Dad looked like it had happened before, and I frowned.

"Dad...could that storm have changed _our_ DNA?" I asked. "I mean we were all caught in it."

Dad gave me a look, and I sighed.

"Stop changing the subject, Cameron." He said.

I stood up. "I am going to continue seeing Johnny whether you want me to or not. For all you know, we're still together now because I'm pregnant or something."

Dad's eyes widened. "What?!?"

"I was kidding." I told him.

Little did he know how serious I was that I was so _not_ pregnant. Johnny and I, when we did have sex, it was always safe sex. I did not want to be an only mother, and pregnancy was far off of my list for now.

"You better have been." He told me.

I shivered, even though it was quite warm, and when I reached for the glass to take a sip, I froze it. At first I was just confused, and then when it began to spread to the table, I let go and looked at Dad.

"Um...Dad?" I asked.

Dad stood up and left the table, and I sighed again--he was totally in denial here. Well fine. I didn't care.

****

"What are you guys up to?" I asked, walking down the hallway later on. "And where the Hell did your clothes go, Johnny?"

He turned around and looked at me, standing there completely naked. The only thing that he had was a fluffy pink winter coat around his important down south area. He snapped his fingers and flame appeared.

I smiled. "Hot."

"So what can you do?" Johnny asked.

"I seem to have gotten ice powers, Hot Shot." I told him.

"So cold." He answered playfully.

I smiled and rested my hand on his peck, and nuzzled his nose with mine.

"You know, opposites attract." I said.

"We're here to save Ben!" Reed told us.

"Sorry!" I replied. "Anyone know the code?"

"Just break the glass. It can't be that thick." Johnny suggested.

Reed ended up stretching his arm underneath the door to use the handle on the inside of the door to open it, and I made a face.

Reed took a breath. "Give me another couple of seconds, guys. I almost got it."

When he had gotten the door open, we all looked at him.

"That's gross." Johnny told him, and then we went into the room.

"Ben?" Reed called.

I pointed to the giant hole in the wall. "Look."

"What is that thing?" Johnny asked as we saw a figure running away.

"What's going on?" Dad asked, showing up. "What happened in here?"

Sue looked at him. "Victor, are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine. Just a few scrapes, that's all." Dad replied.

Reed spoke up as I took Johnny's hand. "Ben did this. He's had some kind of reaction to exposure from the cloud."

"We all have different...symptoms." Sue explained.

"Symptoms?" Dad asked.

"We've all been going through some changes, Dad. We have different symptoms of what the cloud did to us." I tried.

"Just find him." Dad said, and left, and I sighed.

"Sometimes I want to hit him." I told Johnny.

"Anybody got any ideas where the big guy's going?" Johnny asked.

Reed looked at the photograph on the floor and sighed.

"He's going home." Reed replied.

"Cameron!" Dad called.

I sighed and kissed Johnny swiftly. "That's my cue. I will call you later, okay?"

Johnny nodded and I followed my Dad.


	4. Fun with Johnny

The next day, I was with Dad in his office, and I sighed as I leaned back in my chair and popped my gum.

"Stop!" Dad said.

I looked at him. "Dad, I really wish you would talk to me, okay?"

"Now isn't the time." He told me.

"Dad, I controlled the water in the garden today! Doesn't that warrant a father/daughter talk?" I asked.

He sent me a look and I stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I think I'll go call Johnny. Maybe have a quickie before lunch. Does _that_ warrant a father/daughter talk?"

Dad was about to say something when Leonard spoke up.

"Sir, Larry King just cancelled. Apparently, there's a bigger story." Leonard said.

Dad turned on the news and we watched Ben, Susan, Johnny and Reed on the news. They had saved people on the bridge today, and were being called "The Fantastic Four".

"I'm leaving." I told Dad as he got ready for his meeting. "I might see you for dinner at home if you're too bent on sulking by yourself here in the dark. I love you, Dad--but you have to stop being so self centered."

I walked out of the door and took Dad's limo to where Reed worked, laughing a little at the crowd, seeing Johnny waving at the cameras, his arms in the air, basking in the cheer and applause. I went over to them after they went in, and smiled a bit, waving at the doorman. I watched as Ben watched them in the elevator and walked up to him.

"You want some company?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Hey, Cammie. How are you?"

I shrugged. "Okay. I have these really wicked ice powers now, and Dad's in denial, not to mention he thinks he can suddenly play the father card after all these years of completely ignoring me and pretending I didn't exist in the first place."

Ben sighed. "Don't worry about it. He's trying--I guess that's good."

"I just want to hang out with you guys. You guys seem to be at least trying to figure it out. Dad's sulking and making lights flicker." I said.

"You think he got affected too?" Ben asked.

I nodded. "I really do."

"Is that, Cammie?" Johnny asked as Ben and I made it into Reed's place.

"Possibly." I said, smiling at him.

"I agree with your sister about him." Ben told me, gave Johnny a look, and then walked away.

"Come with me to my room." Johnny said, taking me by the hand and leading me to where he was staying.

I smiled. "Nice and homey."

Johnny scoffed. "You mean small."

I shook my head. "I meant homey."

"The bed's nice." Johnny said.

I smiled. "I bet it is."

Johnny sat on the bed and held out his hand, and I rolled my eyes, but took off my jacket and sat on his lap, straddling him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned into him, my forehead to his.

"How are you holding up?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "Okay. I mean I love my powers, but I'm really getting fed up with Dad. It's like he started trying finally, and now he's so absorbed in himself. Of course...the company pulled out and now his stocks aren't worth anything."

"Ah, hon." Johnny said, stroking my hair. "That has to suck."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I mean Mom and I did just fine. Granted that Dad paid for my way through college already. But we lived off of what she made and saved. Dad still has savings--he just--he wants power, you know?"

Johnny nodded. "I know. That has to be hard on you, though. I mean you're trying to form a relationship with the man."

I kissed him, and though he was confused, he kissed me back. I loved when he was so helpful and sweet. It didn't happen very often anymore that he stopped being playful, and so this was nice. I even tried to pull up his shirt, but he stopped me.

"Let's just kiss a while, okay?" He asked.

I smiled. "But who says we can't just kiss with your shirt off?"

It was nice that he knew me well enough to know that I was trying to match his playfulness, and still respect his decision. He laid back, me on top of him, and I rested there, kissing him softly as he held me. He ran his hands along my back, and I rested my arms at his sides, holding him.

"I really like you, Johnny Storm." I said, not wanting to scare him with an 'I love you'.

He smiled as we made eye contact, tucking hair behind my ear.

"I really like you too, Cameron Doom." He replied.

I smiled a little brighter as we lay there just looking at each other and stroking each other happily, and then I kissed him slowly, and he returned it, both of us turning on our sides before a voice we recognized tore us apart.

"CAMERON!!" Dad called.

I sighed. "Damn, he has the worst timing."

"CAMERON!! COME OUT HERE AND COME HOME, NOW!!" Dad roared some more.

I gave Johnny a sad look. "I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, I hopped off of his bed and followed my father home.

****

"I'm tired of you ignoring me, Dad." I said.

Dad looked at me and sighed, getting off of the couch in the house and looking at me.

"I'm not ignoring you, Cameron. I just don't know what to do yet." He replied.

"Reed is trying to--" I tried.

"Enough with Reed already!" Dad yelled, and the lights began to flicker.

I sighed. "Dad, look, I love you, and I care about your well-being, but I can't let you drag me down with you. I want to help Reed. You have to let me."

Dad shook his head. "This isn't about Reed--this is about you and Johnny."

"What about me and Johnny?" I asked slowly.

"Cameron, be serious!" Dad exclaimed.

"I am being serious!" I yelled, stomping my foot on the floor. "I love him!"

Dad looked at me blankly as I thought over my outburst, and he sighed and sat on the couch.

"No matter what I do, I can't seem to make you understand." Dad said.

"Understand what?" I asked.

Dad sighed. "Understand that you and Johnny are becoming me and your mother."  
I smiled a little and sat down next to him. He was worried about me--that showed some definite strength on his part.

"I'm not going to get pregnant, Daddy. I promise. I don't want to be--not any time soon." I explained. "And neither does Johnny."

Dad nodded. "Yes, well, your mother and I didn't want to get pregnant, and we were safe, but you happened. If it's meant to find a way, it will."

I took a breath. "Daddy, I love Johnny. I know that you don't, and Sue thinks I can do better, but you know better than I do that sometimes you have to chase what you can't have. You could have any other woman--I could have any other man--but we've chosen. I want Johnny, and you want Sue. We can't just switch our feelings off."

"Cameron, I don't want you to see him anymore." Dad told me firmly, standing up.

I nodded. "I know you don't want me to, but I'm going to anyways. I love and respect you, but this is my decision--not yours."

Dad sighed. "Cam, please...do this one thing for me. I know I haven't been a good father, but I don't want to see you hurt. I don't like this little relationship the two of you have worked out."

"I think Johnny's the only one that likes it." I replied.

Dad sat back down. "But I thought..."

I shook my head. "I hate it. I really, really hate it. I hate that we're allowed to see other people, but I can't. I can't bring myself to flirt with anyone else, and Johnny can. He even kisses other people."

"Then why do you take it?" Dad asked.

I shrugged. "I don't want to let him go."

Dad sighed and wrapped his arms around me. I was a little caught off guard, but I snuggled into him and he stroked my hair. He nodded and kissed the top of my head, getting up.

"I want you to tell him how you feel." Dad said. "And if he isn't willing to be with you and only you, I want you to try and move on."

I nodded--it was a reasonable request. Dad smiled and went to bed, and I fished my cell phone out of my pocket as it rang.

"Hey, Johnny." I said.

"Hey, Cammie. Can you sneak out tonight?" Johnny asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Where to this time?"

"Just meet me in the park and we'll go from there. There's this hot club I want to try out, but not without you." Johnny explained.

I smiled. "Okay. I'll see you momentarily."

"Perfect. Bye, Cammie." Johnny said.

"Toodles." I replied.

I grabbed my jacket and I headed out of the house, putting my house key and my wallet in the back pockets of my jeans. Carrying purses, being who I am, was dangerous, and so I didn't. I hurried to the park, and then I smiled a little at Johnny as he came up to me.

"You look good, Princess." He said.

I smiled. "You too, Hot Shot."

"So you wanna take a walk around here first, just the two of us?" Johnny asked.

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

Johnny took my hand, and I smiled and leaned into him. He wasn't normally like this, so it was nice.

"So how's your dad?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "Okay."

Johnny smiled. "Just okay?"

I nodded. "Just okay. He's trying a bit more though--that's nice."

Johnny and I stopped at the docks down the path, and I sat down, dangling my legs over the side. Johnny looked up as a really attractive girl went jogging by, and I sighed and looked down at my hands. Maybe Sue and Dad were right. Maybe I had to let him go, even though I didn't want to.

"Nice." Johnny muttered.

I took off my jacket and Johnny looked at me, cocking his head to one side. I slipped off my shirt and my pants, as well as my underwear, and then slipped off of the dock.

"What are you doing?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "I felt like taking a dip."

I didn't know why I'd felt like it, but I wanted away from him for a moment. Then again, this was as good a time as any to tell him how I felt.

"I think we should break up." I blurted out, Johnny having just taken off his shirt to join me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...what?" Johnny asked.

I dunked myself under the water as he took off his pants, and then I resurfaced when I felt a rush of water, knowing Johnny was in the water too. I wiped the water away from my eyes, and Johnny looked at me. I sighed as he ran his fingers through his wet hair.

"I don't want to be one of the many anymore." I said softly. "I want us to have an exclusive relationship."


	5. Budding Romance and Breaking Bonds

"Dad's been annoying me more than normal." I told Johnny.

He stroked my hair as we lay there in bed, and rested his hand on the nape of my neck.

"What exactly has he been doing?" He asked.

"Sulking, yelling, getting mad when I don't do what he wants--oh, and telling me not to see you anymore. I mean no matter how many times I tell him I owe you for saying you'd be my boyfriend, he hates it. Of course I think he knows it means this." I said, referring to the sex.

"Well he wouldn't be a Dad if he didn't tell you not to see me." Johnny said.

I smiled. "I guess."

"And how many times do you have to tell him that we're having sex?" Johnny asked.

"So...how hot are you?" I smirked, changing the subject.

Johnny shrugged. "I have to go into the machine today. You want to?"

I nodded. "I most certainly do. I mean as long as I can get in there before Dad shows up and gets mad that I'm sleeping with you, again."

"God, I still can't believe you told him we were having sex." Johnny said.

I smiled. "Yeah, well--I had to say something to get him to pay attention."

Johnny kissed me. "You can just run away and stay here with me."

I laughed a little. "Johnny, I would--but I'm actually afraid Dad will do something really stupid. I have to be there for him."

Johnny nodded, and kissed me again, pulling me on top of him.

"Fine, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little more fun before we have tests done today." He replied, and I kissed him.

Johnny held me to him protectively, one hand in my hair, the other on the small of my back, and I nibbled on his lip a little, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his right peck.

"Johnny?" Susan asked, rapping her knuckles on the door before opening it.

I made sure the covers were covering everything, and Susan took one look at us, and then she sighed and looked at the door.

"Hi, Sue." I said.

"Cam." She replied. "Reed is ready to get the tests underway."

"We'll be there momentarily." Johnny told her reluctantly, and she nodded, me getting up with the sheet.

I laughed. "Your sister is never going to trust us again. I hope you know that."

Johnny shrugged. "I don't care if she trusts us. She already doesn't trust me."

I nodded and put some clothes on, and then I went out with Johnny after my hair was combed, and I stopped when he gripped my hand and stopped. I turned to face him, and smiled as his lips collided with mine. I kissed him, matching his intensity, and then pushing him a little as I was pressed to the wall.

"Come on now, Hot Shot--we have to practice our powers." I whispered with a giggle.

Johnny chuckled. "How about focusing on our powers of persuasion, Princess?"

I smiled and then leaned in to his ear, my lips brushing across them as I spoke.

"Later...I promise I'll make it worth your while...later." I told him, and pulled away from him, going into the main area, a large machine there. "So...who's going first?"

"I'd say cold to hot." Sue told me.

I smiled. "Hear that, Hot Shot? I get to go first."

Johnny chuckled. "It makes sense, Princess. Show us what you got."

"You got it." I told him, and stepped into the machine.

"Go ahead and start anytime." Reed said from the booth.

I nodded, and turned my power on, becoming an ice element.

"Wow." I heard Susan say. "Cammie, you're below Kelvin."

"I thought that 0 Kelvin was the coldest temperature." I said.

Johnny smirked. "Obviously you're colder than that."

"Ha, Ha, Hot Head!" I told him.

"This is amazing--the cold is generated by your core." Susan said. "You can back it down, now."

I did as I was told, like a good girl, and stepped out, looking up at Sue and Reed.

"So what does that mean exactly?" I asked.

"Well, if you get cold enough, you could very well cause everything around you to revert to an Ice Age state." Reed explained.

"And I take it that's bad." I told him.

Reed nodded. "Yeah, it is."

"My turn. Watch a master at work." Johnny said, and I gave him a playful look.

I went up to watch with Reed and Sue, and looked over the consoles, very intrigued.

"He's heating up from his core, like I generate cold from mine." I said.

Sue nodded. "And like you, his vitals are perfectly normal."

"It's hotter than I anticipated." Reed told us as Johnny started to heat up and the numbers started to heat up in the thousands--in Kelvin. "Okay, Johnny, back it down."

"I can go hotter!" Johnny replied.

"Johnny, just back it down." Sue told him.

"Johnny, back it down right now!" Reed said.

Sue and I both looked down at the machine. "Johnny!"

Reed reached over and punched the button, and it dowsed Johnny with the stuff you find in fire extinguishers.

"Buzz kill!" Johnny said. "You guys are cramping my style."

Reed walked out ahead of us and we all looked down at Johnny, who was covered in white stuff.

"Johnny, you were at 4000 Kelvin. Any hotter and you're approaching supernova." Sue told him.

"Sweet!" Johnny called.

I shook my head. "No, not sweet! That's the temperature of the sun."

Reed nodded. 'Not only could you kill yourself, but you could set fire to Earth's atmosphere, and destroy all human life as we know it."

"Got it. Supernova: bad." Johnny replied.

I laughed and then went down there as Johnny went to wash off. I stepped into the bathroom and stripped down my clothes, stepping into the shower.

"I'm totally hot for you right now." I told him.

Johnny smirked. "Me too."

I kissed him softly, and he wrapped his arms around me, and we kissed for a while before we heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Cam? Your Dad's here." Sue said through the door.

I pulled away from Johnny and sighed. "Well boyfriend, our relationship's about to get tested."

****

Dad was really mad about everything. I wasn't sure exactly what he wanted from me, but I knew now that this whole thing was going to get really complicated, really fast. I was going to have to pick between my father and my boyfriend, and I was pretty sure I'd pick the one I'd known longer--even though they both kept testing the relationship: seeing how far they could push me before I broke.

Dad yelled at me for a while, and then I went back to the Baxter building. I didn't want to deal with him. We were getting along just fine until we all got hit by that storm. It wasn't fair. The only part of any of this that was fair was that Johnny and I became opposites. We were already opposites, but this way we were also the most compatible, no matter the set backs.

"Our uniforms were exposed to the storm, like us." Sue said as I walked into the main room.

"So they can transform like us." Reed added, smiling at me as I nodded to let him know I understood. "Becoming invisible, changing size on demand, reacting to serious cold or remaining impervious to flame."

"You guys look like an 80's rock band." Ben laughed, drinking something out of a metal mixing cup.

"You know, Ben, this material stretches." Sue said. "I'm sure I can figure out a way to make it fit."

"I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that." Ben replied.

Johnny and I smiled, and then Johnny spoke up.

"I love these costumes. They're missing something, though. Needs, like, spice." Johnny said.

Sue sighed. "They're not costumes. You can't use your powers in public, Johnny."

"You guys are worse than NASA." Johnny told her.

"You could burn somebody." Reed added.

"Maybe it's missing a utility belt." Ben said.

I smiled again. "So...we just wear these under our normal clothes then, and appear normal?"

Reed nodded. "That's the idea, anyways."

I stood up. "Okay. Well...I will be back tomorrow, I just came to drop by and see what we've learned. Dad's getting sooooo hard to deal with."

Sue nodded. "Okay, Cam. We'll see you in the morning?"

I smiled. "Absolutely."

"You know what, guys? I'm gonna walk her home." Johnny said after a pause.

"Just be back soon." Sue told him.

Johnny nodded, and after we all exchanged our goodbyes, Johnny and I held hands and walked down the street, our fingers entwined.

"What's wrong, Cammie?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "Dad and I are breaking."

Johnny nodded. "I figured. You know...you can just move-in with us in the Baxter Building for a while. Neither of us would be bored."

I smiled a little. "I'll think about it, Johnny. I promise."

Johnny kissed my hand. "All right."

We stopped at my door and I kissed him. He was caught off guard, but he returned it, and held me close to him.

"I'll be over tomorrow, okay?" I told him.

He kissed me again. "Okay."

I kissed him one last time, and then I went inside the house and saw Dad sitting on the couch. He looked upset and lost.

"What's wrong, Dad?" I asked.

"I found this." Dad told me.

He held up a pregnancy test box and I sighed.

"Dad...I only have it just in case I ever need it." I replied. "What else is up?"

Dad shrugged. "Nothing."

I knew he wasn't telling me the whole truth, and when I saw the metal on his hands and his face, I swallowed.

"Daddy...did you hurt someone?" I asked softly.


	6. BFFs and Homewreckers

Dad was acting way stranger than normal, but that wasn't what was definitely in store for me today. Nope. I was going to have lunch today with my bff/rival: Tara.

Let me fill you in on Tara: She's brunette, beautiful, funny, annoying, outgoing, forward, and oh, here's the best part--she's in love with Johnny, and she lets me know it constantly. So why am I friends with her? She's one of those people that you can't have be your enemy.

First though, I went to the Baxter building. I walked inside and smiled at the doorman, and then I saw Willie, the mailman and he waved, me waving back. I took the stairs up, and when I opened the door, and smiled, sitting down next to Ben as he grabbed a cluster of oranges and squeezed them into a large glass bowl.

"Smells good and fresh." I said, unzipping my jacket to reveal my suit underneath, unzipped a little too far.

"You might wanna zip that up a bit." Reed told me, blushing, Sue coming into the room fixing her shirt.

"Reed, we really can't go outside anymore." Sue told him. "We are on the cover of every publication from People--"

"All right, I'm here, let's make this quick." Johnny said, coming into the room and taking the bowl from Ben just as he started to drink from it. "I got a lot of places to go today." He set the bowl down and then turned on the stove. "Oh, wait. I don't go anywhere. Hey, Girlfriend."

I smiled. "Hey, Boyfriend. You know, Reed's prolly right, like always."

"Of course you take his side." Johnny said. "I don't see you being couped up though. If you were being forced to stay here against your will, you'd get restless too."

Reed sighed. "Johnny, it's imperative that we stay inside for the foreseeable future."

"I know, but when you said that last time, my brain heard 'a week'." Johnny said.

I laughed. "That's because your brain is small and stores only the information that you want it to store."

"Like what you look like in that bathing suit of yours?" Johnny asked.

I smiled. "Will you pay attention to them, please?"

"You know, you pouting is kind of hot." Johnny said, pointing at me as I made my 'please, Johnny, please' face.

Ben cleared his throat. "Okay, the puppy love just made me throw up a little."

I laughed. "Sorry, Ben."

"You think we can go outside? I mean Cammie will keep me under control." Johnny pleaded with Sue.

Sue scoffed. "I love you Cammie, don't get me wrong, but Johnny's too much for you to handle on your own. Johnny, it's too dangerous  
for you to be in public."

"You've been saying that for years." Johnny told her.

I snorted. "It's soooo true too."

"What worries me is that our powers are evolving." Reed tried.

"I know!" Johnny exclaimed.

I cut in. "I actually noticed this morning that I'm starting to be able to create like slides and stuff. Not really flying, but I can slide along it through the air. I just...it's weird to not be normal anymore."

"I am so close to flying, guys, I can taste it." Johnny added.

"You can't fly." Sue said.

"Yet." Johnny corrected her.

"Johnny, can you put that napkin out?" Sue asked.

Johnny looked at the napkin he'd put on fire on the stove. "Jesus."

I giggled as Ben spoke up because Johnny just kept making the flame get bigger with his hand, so I reached over and rest my hand on it, putting the flame out instantly.

Johnny nodded happily. "Hot."

"So what's going on, Reed? How're you going to cure us?" Ben asked.

"I'm going to build a machine to recreate the storm." Reed explained. "The cosmic rays will travel from this generator to this chamber."

I looked over at the picture and frowned.

"What, no pop-ups?" Johnny teased and I smacked him lightly.

"This looks dangerous, Reed." I told him.

"lf I can reverse the wave signal--It'll return us back to normal." Reed said, and looked at me since we both knew there were serious risks here.

"Right. But what are the risks? If Cammie can tell it's dangerous, than it must be." Ben said.

Reed nodded. "Even a small miscalculation could increase our symptoms exponentially...or perhaps even kill us."

"Now, dying. That's bad, right?" Johnny teased again.

I rolled my eyes. "No, honey, that's what we want."

Johnny smirked. "I say we just let sleeping dogs lie, guys."

"I mean why disturb them? They're so cute, right?" I joked, taking Johnny's hand, our fingers entwining.

"So how long till this contraption's up and running?" Ben asked Reed.

"I don't know, it's hard to say." Reed replied.

"How long, Reed?" Ben asked again, a little annoyed.

Reed sighed. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Ben asked angrily.

"You don't want this to get worse." Reed told him.

"Worse than that?" Johnny asked, and I smacked him.

"Guys, look, we're gonna be stuck here for a while, so let's just try and get along." Sue said.

I nodded. "Yeah, Sue's right...but on that note...I need to meet Tara for breakfast."

"Wait, that hot friend of yours?" Johnny asked.

I turned to him. "You know what, if you're gonna act like that, then I'm not gonna ask for you to come."

"Come on, Cammie, please?!?" Johnny asked. "I would never hit on her or leave you for her! You're my girl."

"That's convincing right after you talk about how hot her friend is." Ben said, and got up to go into the other room.

Sue sighed. "If you promise not to use your powers Johnny...you can go."

I smiled. "Hear that? You can't use your powers. And you better keep your dirty comments to yourself...unless they're directed at me."

****

Tara was really excited when she saw me--but more excited when she saw Johnny behind me.

"Well if it isn't your little plaything." Tara told me.

"Plaything?" Johnny asked. "Cammie and I are in a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Which I think is silly considering that there are other women who would keep you to themselves--fight for you." Tara said, and winked at him.

I forced a smile. "For your information, Tara--"

"--Cammie's my exclusive girlfriend." Johnny told her.

Tara's smug look was wiped off her face. "Oh. Well...I mean congratulations."

She smiled, but I knew it was fake, and so I just smiled my fake one back and Johnny took my hand.

"We gonna eat?" Johnny asked.

Tara nodded, and we all sat down in the restaurant, and I picked up the menu, looking it over, Johnny's hand resting on my knee. I set my hand on his, and then Tara spoke up.

"So how are you, Cammie? I heard about the accident in space." Tara said.

I shrugged. "I'm fine. Dad seems fine too."

"I heard he got sacked. That must suck for you." Tara said, and she actually seemed genuine about that part.

I nodded. "Yeah, it does kind of suck. I'm still at the company though, so Dad has an in."

"Nice." Tara told me. "And what about you, Johnny? What have you been doing?"

"I've just been hanging around, loving the girlfriend, all that stuff. Nothing important." Johnny replied.

"I haven't seen you guys around in a while. I thought you all forgot about the little people. And Cammie--how do you deal with Johnny being part of that 'Fantastic Four'?" Tara asked.

I shrugged. "I deal with it fine. I mean sure, we can't really go around just having sex and everything like before, but I'm getting used to it."

Tara just nodded, not wanting to know about us having sex.

"So...how about we get some pancakes?" Johnny asked.

I smiled, and then I shifted a little, trying not to let Tara know that Johnny was moving his hand up my leg. I stopped his hand with mine, and then I smirked a bit.

"Stop feeling each other up, guys--this is a nice family outing." Tara said.

The waitress came over, and I looked up at her, recognizing her from school years ago.

"Oh my God--Jennifer?" I asked.

Jennifer smiled. "Hey, Cameron!"

I slid out of the booth, and hugged her. We'd been best friends once upon a time, and then Dad came into my life three years ago, and we stopped contact--Dad didn't like anyone--except Tara. So needless to say, I was totally happy to see Jennifer again.

"And if it isn't Johnny Storm." Jennifer said.

Johnny smiled. "Hi, Jenny."

Jennifer looked at Tara. "And you are?"

"I'm Tara." Tara replied. "Cammie and I have been friends for a good two and a half years."

"And I take it you also like Mr. Storm here?" Jennifer asked.

Tara raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Jennifer shrugged. "I've known Johnny for a long time--trust me, I know when girls love him."

Johnny cleared his throat. "Pancakes. We all want juice and pancakes."

I nodded. "Yeah."

Jennifer smiled. "Of course. Hey...can we catch up, Cammie?"

I smiled and nodded. "Of course, Jenny."

"I get off at 2." She told me.

"I'll come and meet you and you can see my new house." I explained.

Jennifer nodded, and then she went to get us food, and Tara spoke up.

"Well that was eventful." Tara said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes, and to my surprise, Johnny spoke up.

"Hey--she was one of my best friends." Johnny said.


	7. And it's Out

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry this chapter is so short.**

**It's just a little filler for character bonding.**

****

Dad was acting strange. I wasn't normally so concerned, but I was right now. He seemed so violent. So secretive. It was frankly scaring me, so I went to the Baxter building, and I snuck into Johnny's room and crawled into his bed.

"Hmm?" Johnny groaned, and then turned over and smiled, his eyes closed. "What's up, Sexy?" He smelled my hair. "Cherries. Obviously Cammie."

"What other 'sexy' girls do you have in your bed, Johnny Storm?" I asked sternly.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "Spill."

"So you can fall asleep again to the sound of my voice?" I asked him, smiling a little because his eyes were still closed and he was obviously very tired.

"Absolutely." Johnny replied, nodding slowly, not really paying attention to me anymore.

I kissed him softly. "Just wanted to sleep with my lame, boring, tired boyfriend."

"No fair." Johnny breathed. "I'm too tired to take you."

I laughed. "I know. Just pass out already, Johnny."

Johnny held onto me, and fell asleep, me laying awake thinking. I was pretty much freaking out. I felt like I was betraying people. Dad obviously needed my help, and then I sat up and hugged my knees, Johnny waking up because he was getting a little cold.

"Okay, what's really up?" Johnny asked, leaning into me, stroking my hair and pushing it aside to kiss my neck.

"Dad's worrying me." I replied, smiling a little. "I mean...what am I supposed to do?"

Johnny sighed. "I dunno. I mean maybe he's just _really_ annoyed with me."

I shrugged. "Maybe I'm just worrying."

I turned to him and kissed him. He kissed me back, and then his cell phone rang.

"Who is it?" I asked, annoyed we weren't kissing anymore.

Johnny looked at my pouty face and nibbled on my lip. "No one as important as you."

I smiled and kissed him again as he silenced his phone, laying down and pulling me down with him. We kissed for a little while longer, but his phone rang again.

I sighed. "Answer it."

Johnny sighed too, and then picked it up. "Hello? Oh hi, Tara."

I frowned. "So she's the one that's making this hot and happy feeling die?"

"Tara? I really have to go." Johnny said. "Yeah. Cammie and I are definitely in the middle of something. Goodbye."

I beamed. "So where were we?"

I started to unbutton my shirt, and then I smirked when Johnny grinned.

"God, I adore you." Johnny whispered.

I smirked and shrugged, taking off my shirt. "As much as I adore you?"

Johnny leaned in. "I'm pretty sure more."

I smiled. "I'm pretty sure not, but I'll satisfy your happy urges anyways."

****

I rested on top of Johnny and smiled, kissing him softly, his bare skin against mine.

"You think people are mad this do this so often?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "Should we care what they think?"

Johnny shook his head. "Absolutely not."

I kissed him again, and then I pulled away.

"Can we have a serious conversation after something as sensational as that?" I asked softly.

Johnny nodded, putting his hand in my hair and running his fingers through it.

"Absolutely." He replied.

I bit my lip and then took a deep breath. "We've known each other for a long while now, right?"

Johnny nodded. "Yes, yes we have."

"How long would you say?" I asked, trying to draw this out as long as possible.

Johnny pondered that and cocked his head to one side. "Since elementary school."

I smiled. "You used to think I had cooties."

Johnny laughed. "Then I realized a few years later that you were beyond hot."

"And I wouldn't have you since I was gonna be a notch in your belt." I replied.

Johnny nodded. "Yeah. But it's been a good three years hasn't it?"

I smiled. "Better than good...I love you, Johnny Storm."

****

***Victor's POV--Third Person***

Victor looked at his hands, and then at his face in the mirror, one last time. This isn't who he had wanted to become. He was giving up everything. How could he?

He picked up his phone and immediately called the one person who would listen--the one person who would come to him in his time of need--Cameron.

"Dad?" Cameron answered.

Victor knew by the tone in her voice, that she was busy, but she was also concerned. She had every right to be both. He was keeping her too cooped up. But at the same time--she was the little girl he didn't get to raise.

"I need you home." He said, and for once, it was soft and kind.

"Right away, Daddy." She replied, and hung up.

Victor waited for only ten minutes before Cameron came hurrying in the door. She threw her arms around his neck, and buried her face in his chest.

"What's wrong, Dad?" She asked him.

Victor didn't know what to say. What was wrong? Too many things. He had to just lay them all out for her. Had to just tell her.

"I killed a man today, Cam." He said.

Cameron pulled away a little and looked up at him. There was sadness and fear in her eyes, and he couldn't stand it. He looked away, and heard her take a deep breath.

"What are we going to do, Dad?" She asked.


	8. The Breaking Point

I wasn't quite sure what to do. My father had killed a man. How are you supposed to take that and then deal with it? The thing was, he only seemed really distraught about it for a little while. Now he was acting like it was no big deal. Like it didn't matter anymore. I felt the need to help him.

I wasn't feeling well though. I had been in bed for a good couple hours that morning thinking thing over, and feeling nauseous and gross. I had even thrown up, and so I checked the calendar immediately, and frowned when I realized I was a good week late.

"Great." I muttered, and got the pregnancy test that Dad had found and I called Johnny.

Dad had gone off to do some errands, and Johnny came over and sat on my bed.

"Okay, don't be completely alarmed, but um...hold this. Look over the instructions. I'll be out in a few minutes." I told him.

Johnny's eyes widened when he saw the pregnancy test box, and I went into the bathroom. After a few minutes in there by myself, I looked at the test and started to cry. Great. I walked out and showed it to him.

"It's postive." Johnny said softly.

I nodded, and then sat down next to him and started to cry some more.

"I'm pregnant." I cried.

Johnny slowly reached out to stroke my back, but I was freaking I got up and went to the other side of the room and I turned to him.

"Okay, this isn't the end of the world, Cammie." Johnny tried, but he wasn't sounding very convincing.

"How can you say that? Of course it is! Johnny, we're going to be parents. How did this happen? I mean I _know_ how it happened..." I sighed. "Oh my God! Dad's going to kill me."

Johnny sighed and came over and hugged me. I cried into his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair, and then he kissed the top of my head.

"You know, I'm going to be here." He said.

I smiled a little and looked up at him, and he wiped my tears away.

"Yeah?" I asked.

He nodded. "I'm not walking away."

"Thank you." I said, and I kissed him softly.

****

I was wondering if I pregnant _and_ sick for the rest of the day. Especially since the next day I was feeling worse. Maybe I was just sick. But the test had been positive. So that morning I went to the doctor, and Johnny joined me. I checked in and filled out the papers, and then we went into the exam room when my name was called.

"Let's take your temperature first." The nurse said.

It turned out that I had a fever, but only because I was warmer than normal, and though not sure what to think about it, even being one of the people that knew about my "condition", she was pretty sure that with my nausea and my headache, I had the flu. She went to get the doctor because of the pregnancy test, though, and Johnny squeezed my hand.

"So what are you looking for, here?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "I guess concrete answers."

Johnny nodded and kissed me swiftly. "All right."

"You're going to get sick." I replied.

Johnny shrugged. "Eh. You have to remember that I'm like a Supernova. I bet my body repels disease."

"Ah, but if you looked at it like that, then I shouldn't be sick--I'm below Kelvin, remember. Bacteria and viruses shouldn't be able to survive in either of us." I told him.

The doctor came in when Johnny smiled a little and squeezed my hand again. She had me lift up my shirt, and she ran the ultrasound around, and then when she was done and wiped off the gel, she looked at us.

"You had what we call a false positive." The doctor explained. "You are definitely not pregnant. You do, however, have the flu. I don't know how it's possible with your physiology, but you have it."

I nodded, and Johnny and I were both relieved. He took me home, and I kissed him softly before he left.

"Thank you so much for being so understanding and standing by me." I told him.

He stroked my hair and smiled. "I love you, Cameron Doom. I'm going to stand by you."

I smiled even more, because he hadn't actually had a chance to reply to me before I went to talk to Dad. I kissed him again, and then promised him that I'd see him when I wasn't sick anymore. He left to go back to the Baxter building, and I went to my room, and flipped on the television.

I had been watching it for a couple hours, switching to the motorcyclists and my eyes widening as I saw Johnny on tv before I heard a knock on my door. I looked up and Dad came into my room, and he looked pissed.

"What is this?" He asked, holding up the pregnancy test I had obviously not thrown away in the right garbage can. "You are reckless."

"Reckless?" I asked, sitting up. "You mean just as reckless as you were?"

"I told you to stop! I told you not to have anything to do with that boy!" Dad yelled.

I felt a little taken back now. "You pulled the 'Dad' card, and you had no right too!"

Dad looked a little like he'd been slapped, and I kept going.

"I mean I've been trying since I realized who you were! I packed up and came into this life, and I tried to make you happy! And since it never worked, I just started doing my own thing!" I told him. "And if you're asking about that pregnancy test being positive, 'Dad', it was a false pregnancy! So you can stop pretending that you care now!"  
I got up and grabbed my coat and pushed past him.

"Where are you going, Cameron?" He asked.

"Away from you." I replied.

He nodded. "Fine."

****

Dad has only called me once when I got to the Baxter Building. He was actually making sure I was safe, but he and I both knew that this is what our 'relationship' was now. Me being mad at him him, and him not trying to make it so I wasn't. I sat in Johnny's room, and then I snuggled into his bed. I went out during the commotion though, and I looked at the television as the others watched the chat with Johnny after he'd done his trick on the bike--he was naming everyone. Except me--word of my powers had been kept under wraps by Dad.

"Flame Boy never listens." Ben said.

"What did he do to his uniform?" Sue asked, as we looked at the '4' that was on it now.

"Johnny, I've gotta ask you about this outfit." The reporter said.

Johnny smiled. "Yeah, it's sort of Armani meets astronaut."

"So what are your superhero names?" The woman asked him.

"They call me The Human Torch. Ladies call me Torch." Johnny replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Please."

The announcer brought up a picture on their big display screen.

"What about the rest of the team?" She asked, Sue's pic coming up.

"That's the lnvisible Girl." Johnny replied.

"Girl?" Sue asked, standing next to me.

"What about your leader, Reed Richards?" She asked. "I hear you call him Mr. Fantastic.

"Could've been worse." I said.

"I guess." Reed replied.

"Is it true what they say about him that--he can expand _any_ part of his anatomy?" She asked, and there were giggles and ooohs from the girls.

"Well, I've always found him to be a little limp." Johnny said.

My jaw dropped. "Reed, I'm sorry for him."

"What is that? What do you call that thing?" She asked as Ben's picture came after Reed's.

Johnny smiled. "That's it. 'The Thing'."

"Yeah, you think this is bad, you should have seen him before." Johnny told her.

"Okay. Now I'm gonna go kill him." Ben replied, and headed out, all of us following him.  
When we got out there, Sue pointed.

"There he is." She said.

I sighed as Johnny was out with a girl on each arm. Had he really changed, or was I looking at the old Johnny? What happened to the care man from the morning? Was the adrenaline just clouding his judgement at the moment?

"Johnny!" Sue chastized, going up to him.

"Can we talk about this later, guys?" Johnny asked.

Sue shook her head. "No. We can't talk about this later."

"We can do this at home." Johnny replied.

"What are you thinking?" Sue asked.

Johnny was ignoring her. "Where's my ride?"

Suddenly rolling past us, was Johnny's red sports car--crushed into a ball. We looked to see Ben standing there looking a little pissed off.

"You think that's funny, Pebbles?" Johnny asked.

"Johnny!" Sue and I chastized.

"What?" Johnny asked.

"You gave us names?" Sue asked. "You don't think."

"So now you're the face of The Fantastic Four?" I asked.

"A face that's about to be broken!" Ben yelled.

Sue sighed. "Look, this isn't permanent, Johnny. We need to be careful until we're normal again."

Johnny looked at her as I nodded. he didn't like me siding with his sister, but I was starting to think that we needed to be focusing on seeing if this was a good thing or not for us to have powers.

"What if I don't wanna be normal?" Johnny asked. "I didn't turn into a monster!"

"Ben!" Sue called after him as he turned to walk away.

Johnny took that moment to shoot a fireball at the back of his head.

"Did you just...." Ben said, turning around to get another fireball in the face as I tried to get Johnny to stop.

"Johnny, stop it." I said. "I know that you want to have this independence, and you hate being couped up, and you want this to be permanent, but turning on each other isn't the answer."

"That's it, Tinkerbell!" Ben said.

"No, Ben." Reed told him.

"You wanna fly? Then fly!" Ben roared.

Reed stepped in between them as Ben punched, and Johnny went flying into the billboard, burning it a little bit.

"Wait a minute, guys! Ben, don't do this!" Sue and I protested.

"Let's see if we can get blood from a stone." Johnny retorted to Ben.

"Let's see. Bring it, Burnout!" Ben said, egging Johnny on.

"You two need a time-out!" Sue said, getting in between them, using a small forcefield on Ben.

"Talk to Blockhead, he started it." Johnny said, as Ben walked away.

"I don't care. Damn it, Johnny." Sue told him, and hurried after Ben. "Ben, wait!"

"What?" Johnny asked Reed and I angrily.

"You need to control yourself and think before you act." Reed replied.

"Yeah, but see, that's your problem. You always think, you never act." Johnny replied. "What if we got these powers for a reason? What if it's like some higher calling?"

"A higher calling? Like getting girls and making money?" Reed asked.

"Is there any higher?" Johnny asked. "You know what, Reed? This is who we are. Accept it. Or better yet, enjoy it."

I tucked the white strand behind me ear. "You know what, Johnny? You can enjoy it by yourself. I don't care that this is what you want and feel that you need to feel better about yourself, or that you think you'll have more fun--I don't like seeing you like this."

Johnny sighed and stopped walking away. "I got carried away."

"And acted like an asshole." I replied as Reed walked away from us. "Ben didn't deserve any of that. You have to come to a happy medium. You have to think _and_ act. I don't want you to just act, and I don't want you to be like Reed. Where's the guy I fell for, Johnny?"

"Actually, if we want to be technical about this, you feel for me back when I was _still_ an asshole." Johnny replied.

I nodded. "Yeah, but you have your really sweet moments. Why do you have to fly off the handle like this?"

"Look, Cammie, do we have to talk about this right now? Some big things have happened between us, I blew off steam, I got carried away, and I need to blow off some more." He replied.

I nodded. "I'll be at the Baxter Building. I'm not going home."

"Something happen?" Johnny asked, suddenly feeling bad he'd been such a jerk.

I shrugged. "We'll talk when you've cooled off and apologized...to Ben."


	9. Daddy, or Love of my Life

I had gone back home, instead of to the Baxter Building. I was sitting on the couch watching television, and then Jennifer came walking in the door since I'd called her when I'd found out Dad wasn't home.

"What are you watching?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno. It was just on."

She nodded and came over and kissed my head, and then sat on the couch with me as I held the pillow, looking really dismal.

"So how bad are things with you, Cammie?" Jennifer asked.

I shrugged. "Dad killed a man, Johnny and I had a pregnancy scare, Tara hasn't talked to me since breakfast, I have the flu, and Johnny's being an ass to everyone."

Jennifer nodded and took a deep breath. "You have to decide where your loyalties lie, Cammie. You can't keep sitting on the fence about it all. You can either forgive that your father killed a man and stand by him to save him from himself, or you can save the relationship you have with Johnny. At this point, you can't choose both. You're going to need to focus sole attention on one of them, and the other one is going to drift."

"Can't I just believe that the one I choose not to focus attention on right now is going to still be there when I come around to him?" I asked.

Jennifer shrugged. "You can believe that Johnny will still be there--but you won't know for sure, now will you?"

I sighed, and then looked at her. "You didn't say anything about Tara."

"Tara's a bitch. She calls herself your best friend, but wants your boyfriend. Trust me--letting her go isn't a bad thing." Jennifer explained.

I smiled a little. "You're right about that."

"You wanna know my opinion?" Jennifer asked me.

I nodded. "More than you know."

Jennifer nodded too. "I think that at this rate, your father is past saving, and he finally needs to take responsibility for his actions. Because he's had it all, he's gotten away with more than he should have, and it's about time he got burned by the fire he plays with. But Johnny? If you love him, you have to tell him that. You have to let him know that even when he's being an asshole--you want him."

"Johnny Storm _is_ an asshole sometimes." I said with a little smile. "But you liked him once too once upon a time."

"And got over it in a day, Missy!" Jennifer replied, smacking my leg playfully. "I introduced you two because somehow I knew you'd end up together."

I smiled. "Let's never go years without talking again, all right?"

I held my fist up for her, and she smiled.

"Deal." She replied, and touched my fist with hers, both of us smiling.

We knew then that we would be able to overcome anything we put our minds to as long as we kept our friendship strong. I gave her a big hug and then went to the Baxter Building, and ran into Sue.

"Hey." Sue said.

"Hi." I replied.

Sue came over and wrapped her arms around me and I accepted it.

"Wanna tell me what's up?" She asked.

I shrugged. "How did you know Reed was the one?"

I knew the subject of Reed was still sore with her, but I had to know. If I was going to pick Johnny over my father, it had to be because I knew he was the one in my future.  
Sue took a breath. "It was this feeling in my gut, Cam. I just knew that I couldn't live without him. He made me laugh, he made me cry--and even when I was angry, I knew that I couldn't _not_ love him. If you're asking me how to discern if Johnny's the one for you or not...I can't tell you if he is or isn't. I'm also biased because I think you deserve better. My brother is still an immature little boy."

I smiled a little. "I'm going to go ahead and think some things through. Thanks for talking to me."

Sue nodded, and stroked my hair in a sisterly gesture, before I went up the stairs, and she got into the elevator. Then I went into the room Johnny had been staying in, and I laid on Johnny's bed and sighed. It was a really overwhelming couple days. The flu. Dad killing a man. False positive. Johnny blowing off steam by being a jerk. I wished that things could go back to being at least a little easier.

I laid there for a good hour or two, thinking. Sue was right. I had to just feel it. How did I truly feel about Johnny Storm? Well...I was in love with him. I knew that. I knew that I wanted him in my life, and I wanted to be with him. Even when he was an asshole, I loved him. Even when he was flirting with other girls, I knew that he knew, that he belonged to me. Johnny Storm was my other half--but did _he_ see that?

"Do you also remember what you swore to do with every breath in your body?" I heard Ben asking Reed.

I sighed. "And now _they're_ fighting too."

I got up and went out to see Reed and Ben start fighting each other, Reed having to use his powers to restrain Ben, trying to calm him down. Then Ben stormed off--he wasn't gonna watch Reed's back anymore.

"Do things between all of us have to always end in spats like this?" I asked.

Reed sat down and rested against the machine, and I watched as Sue went off after Ben, and I decided to follow her. I didn't want Ben to leave. I didn't want these people that I cared about to all fall apart. In fact, part of me was wishing that Dad and I hadn't fallen apart. I ended up downstairs right as Sue and Johnny started yelling at each other, and so I listened and stayed out of sight.

"Yeah, Sunshine just left. Look, Sue, I'm sorry. I can't stay in this freak show. I gotta get back to the real world." Johnny said, heading for the door.

"You're calling that the real world?" Sue asked incredulously.

Johnny turned to her. "Look, Sue, you're not Mom okay? So stop talking to me like I'm a little boy."

"Maybe I would if you'd stop acting like one. Do you even hear yourself? Who do you think you are?" Sue asked.

"Why is everyone on my ass?" Johnny replied. "If you guys are jealous, that's fine. I didn't expect it to come from you though."

"You really think those people out there care about you? You're just a fad to them, Johnny!" Sue exclaimed.

Johnny looked at her. "Let's try something new: you live your life, and I'll live mine." Johnny started to walk away. "Sound good? Oh, and just for the record--they love me!"

"Cam's the one that loves you! And you're just blowing her off like everyone else!" Sue yelled. "She deserves so much better than you!"

I looked up as she said that.

"You don't know anything about Cammie and me, Sue. You have no idea what we've been going through these last few days, so just stop." Johnny replied angrily. "I love her, and I'm not blowing her off. I know she deserves better than me, and I'm trying to be the man she wants, so just--back off."

I came out of hiding and started going after him, Sue turning around and sighing.

"You heard all that?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. For the record, thanks for standing up for me. However, we just got over a pregnancy scare, so maybe not the best thing to say right now."

"Oh Cam, I'm sorry." Sue said, and she hugged me.

I returned it. "Thanks. I mean I'm fine and we're not pregnant or anything, it's just...this is a really crappy thing for us right now."

Sue nodded. "Go on after him. I'll try and do some damage control. You have enough of your own to deal with."

I smiled and kissed her cheek, and then hurried on outside, seeing Johnny walking down the sidewalk. I ran after him, and when I came up beside him, he scoffed.

"She told you, huh?" Johnny asked.

I shook my head. "I heard everything."

Johnny nodded. "So how is this gonna work? You gonna side with Sue and call everything with us off?"

I rolled my eyes and took his hand, dragging him into a little alley-way, and pinning him up against the wall.

"I know why you're in a huff, Johnny Storm." I said.

"Yeah?" He asked skeptically.

I nodded. "Ever since I've known you, you've been known as the 'not so smart, totally runs on his urges, ladies' man'. Now I know that you have a brain up there, you just don't always use it. I know that you're smart, and you're sweet, and you're caring. These powers give you a second chance--or at least to redeem yourself. But hey, if you want me to break up with you, then I can. And I'll wait forever for you to find yourself and be with me again, or for you to find who you were meant to be with."

"Sue was right about you deserving someone better than me." Johnny said softly.

I shook my head. "No she wasn't. I love you, and that's all that matters. We're a good team, and you know it. I understand the cooling off though. I mean we need to figure out who we are."

Johnny nodded. "Yeah, we do."

"So how about we got back to our original arrangement for now?" I asked him, leaning against him. "I don't want to completely break up with you."

Johnny smiled. "How about we keep things the way they are?"

"But we're having doubts. You sure you want exclusive?" I asked.

Johnny kissed me, and though caught off guard, I returned it.

He nodded. "I love you, Cammie. I want exclusive, we just both need a little more space. Not like a break though--I mean we need to have more alone time you know?"

"Well all right, then." I told him.

"Let's top this off with some more kissing, shall we?" Johnny asked.

I smiled. "Oh but of course. Let's find a better place to do it, though."

****

If there was ever a time for my father to ruin things, it was right then. I got home just in time for Leonard to call me and tell me there was a break in. When he mentioned that heat seeking missiles and cooling agents were missing, I knew Dad was behind it, trying to get back at the Fantastic Four. I hurried on over to the Baxter Building again, just in time to see Ben human.

"Wow. Dad did this?" I asked.

Ben nodded. "Yeah."

"Shit. He's probably at the company. I'll head him off before he hurts someone else." I said.

"You can't handle him by yourself." Johnny told me.

"Johnny." Sue said.

We all looked out the window, and I saw a heat seeking missile.

"Don't even think about it!" Sure cried.

"Never do." Johnny replied, rubbing his hands together.

I swallowed. "Please tell me you're more than pretty sure you can fly."

"I'm really pretty sure." Johnny told me, and jumped off the building.

While Sue looked over to see if he was going to be okay, I hurried out of the building and went to the company. When I got there, Reed was strapped down to a chair with the cooling agent stuck in his arm.

"Come to join him...or me?" Dad asked.

I looked up to see Dad standing there in a mask, and I took a deep breath.

"Dad--you don't have to do this. Come on. If you do this, you'll lose yourself--_I'll_ lose you. Don't you love me?" I asked.

Dad sighed dramatically. "Cammie, Cammie, Cammie--this is about power. Not love. You're my daughter. My flesh and blood. Nothing will ever change that, but this--this is bigger than you and me. This was Reed's fault. He miscalculated. Then? Then we were caught in the cloud and given the gifts of Gods."

"You're blaming Reed for you losing your spot in the company? Dad--you have to take blame for that too. _You_ invested in his idea." I tried.

Dad laughed. "Step back, Cammie--this is my fight."

"You've made it my fight too. You threatened Johnny with that missile." I said.

Dad laughed again. "And I won."

I swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Johnny's gone. The missile finished him off. He wasn't fast enough." Dad replied. "Is that enough for you to turn against your own father? Are you seriously going to let some little crush cloud your vision? You can use your powers however you choose--you can join me and we can have power. Father and daughter."

"Since when have you ever treated me like your daughter?" I asked.

I was about to use my powers when Dad sighed, and shot me with a lightening bolt. I tried to absorb the charge since I was water, and I could conduct electricity, but I hadn't mastered that yet, and so I got knocked into the wall.

"How cute." Dad said, and Sue got startled and turned around, now fully visible.

I coughed, and sat up, wiping blood off of my nose and then onto my outfit. It could be washed later. Dad and Sue started to fight, and then Ben showed up. He'd used the machine to get back his powers so he could help. Dad took the fight outside, and so the four of us went outside to try and stop as much destruction as we could.

"Anyone seen Johnny?" I asked as Dad slowed the fight down.

Just then, a fireball was shot as Dad, and Johnny landed on the ground next to me.

"Missed me? Nice to have you back, Pebbles." Johnny said, smiling at Ben.

"Thank God, Boyfriend." I breathed.

Johnny smiled. "Worried, Girlfriend?"

"Not in the slightest." I replied with a wink.

"I really think we should get this show on the road." Dad said.

"Of course you do." I told him. "You can still back down before something big and bad happens."

"No can do, Cammie." He replied.

I nodded. "Then let's do this."

"Johnny! Supernova!" Reed instructed.

"I thought you said that was a bad thing!" Johnny replied.

"NOW!" Reed cried.

Johnny nodded, and did a 'supernova' around Dad, Sue containing the heat with her force field. She was still new at it though, and her nose started to bleed, and Johnny backed down. Dad, being metal alloy, was melty, but still very much alive.

"That the best you can do?" Dad asked.

"Cam? Can you? You don't have to. We understand." Sue told me.

"Ben?" I asked.

Ben nodded, and broke the fire hydrant, Reed turning himself into a slide and hosing Dad off, until he stood there like a statue. People around us were cheering, but I couldn't help but feel pain. He was my Dad. My biological father. Now he was gone. He'd gone mad with power, and it had destroyed him--we'd destroyed him--the Fantastic Four had destroyed him.

"You okay?" Johnny asked, coming over to me.

I looked at him and threw my arms around his neck. He returned the embrace, and then after picking up a bit and getting Dad taken care of, we all went home--Johnny and I to my house, while the others went to fix up the Baxter Building a bit and get some shut-eye.

"I can't stay here by myself." I told Johnny, looking around the empty house.

Johnny nodded, and hugged me as I started to cry. He understood how I felt. He understood that I needed Dad--understood that even though I knew we'd done the right thing, he was the only blood-related family member I had left.

"I'll stay tonight." Johnny told me.


	10. 1 Year Later

It was slightly awkward to be Sue's Maid of Honor when Johnny and I were broken up. It was even more stressful that Dad was alive. I was juggling far too much--especially since I had been given my father's place in the company, and was running things.

"You miss him more today than yesterday." Jennifer told me.

"Well, he helped give me life." I said.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "I meant Johnny, not your father."

"I don't miss Johnny." I lied.

Jennifer looked over my shoulder in the office and pointed to a work paper I'd been working on.

"That's why you wrote down 'Cameron Storm' where your name was supposed to go?" Jennifer asked.

I sighed. "Great, I wrote that in pen so now I have to do it all over."

"Why don't you talk to him, Cammie? I mean you guys only broke up 5 months ago." Jennifer said.

I nodded. "Yeah, and do you remember who broke up with who, Jen?"

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Apologize and he'll take you back."

"Did he tell you that?" I asked, a little hope in my voice.

Jennifer shook her head. "No, but I know you both well enough to know what you're thinking."

"Johnny and I just weren't meant to be, Jen." I told her, shrugging and re-doing the work paper I'd messed up.

"Neither of us believes that. You've had a lot on your mind, Cammie. Your Dad's alive, your powers are stronger, the company's striving with you here." Jennifer explained. "Then, Johnny couldn't handle all the lonliness with you being busy, but I'm positive that in 5 months he has matured."

I sighed. "I _do_ need to go and talk to Sue about the bacherlorette party...I can talk to Johnny while I'm there."

Jennifer smiled. "Now you're talking, Cammie."

I sighed. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say."

Jennifer was rather proud of herself, and so I decided to go ahead and do as she said. So when I was done with work, I headed over to the Baxter Building where the new F4 Headquarters were, and took a deep breath. I hadn't talked to Johnny in almost two months and now I was going to beg him to take me back? No.

"You can come inside. We've all missed you." Ben said, standing next to me as he walked up to the building too.

I grinned and hugged him, and he patted my back softly. Even huge and made of rock, he was the most loving, and now very aware of his own strength. I was incredibly happy to see him, and when I pulled out of the hug he smiled.

"Come on in and see what we've done in 5 months." Ben offered.

"Is Johnny here?" I asked slowly.

Ben shrugged. "Possibly. He's all excited he has all these endorsement deals now. The boy loves free stuff."

I laughed. "Sounds like Johnny. So let's go inside, shall we?"

Ben caught me up on some of the new F4 inventions and trips they got to go on, and then we ran into Reed, who beamed when he saw me.

"It's been way too long, Cammie. Sue's going to be so happy to see you!" Reed exclaimed.

I laughed a little. "It's good to see you too, Reed."

"You know what I meant." Reed told me, and we smiled and hugged each other before a familiar voice caught my attention.

"CAMMIE!" Sue cried.

I turned around and we beamed. "SUE!"

We ran over to each other and hugged tightly, both of us super excited to see each other. Though Sue and I had talked on the phone just a couple days ago, we hadn't seen each other for months if you didn't count the three failed wedding attempts. It was really nice to see her again.

"My God you're blonde." I told her.

She laughed. "That streak of yours is platinum white--not to mention shorter."

I shrugged. "I've been practicing my powers and searching for a new look."

"I think the haircut is quite attractive." Tara said, and I looked over in the direction of her voice.

I have to admit that I felt sick to my stomach. She was wearing jeans and Johnny's shirt, and it was obvious by the look on her face that she and Johnny were hooking up now that I was out of the picture. My suspicions were confirmed when Johnny walked out shirtless and looked at me, stunned.

"Tomorrow." I told Sue.

It was all that I could muster, and as Sue nodded and Tara beamed, I left the Baxter Building without looking back once. Johnny Storm was dead to me.

****

When I got back to the house that night, Jennifer had alreadygotten a call from Johnny and had ice cream ready for me.

"I'm sorry, Cammie. He didn't tell me he was dating her--well sleeping with her." Jennifer said.

I shrugged. "Who cares?"

Jennifer sighed. "You can't just go around pretending you don't care, Cammie. You have to face what's going on."

"Oh but I _don't_ care." I told her, grabbing myself some coffee. "I cared at first, I admit it, but after a couple drinks and a bit of thinking, I'm good--I'm fine. I'm terrific even."

Jennifer sighed. "Cammie, what he did was wrong."

"How?" I asked her with a scoffing laugh. "He and I broke up, Jenny. In fact _he_ dumped _me_."

"She openly betrayed you, Cammie! She's the one that blabbed about your powers and gave the press a field day about your personal life! It took you 2 months to get your good name back, and Johnny has no right to date her! None!" Jennifer yelled.

I'd never realized how deep Jennifer's hatred for Tara ran until that moment. I was so lucky to have a friend like Jennifer on my side, and Johnny was so unlucky to have her on my side. I sat down next to her, and she ran her fingers through my hair as I started to cry.

"I hate him." I told her sadly.

She nodded. "I wish that were true."

"Me too." I replied.

We sat there for a little while, until Jennifer's cell phone went off. I smiled a little and nodded so she'd know I was okay with her answering it, and so she got up and frowned.

"Just talk to him." I told her. "It won't do any harm."

Jennifer sighed and answered her phone angrily. "What do you want, Johnny?"

I got up and left the room to splash water on my face and sighed. I had to move past this. Johnny had moved on, and I could too. I listened as Jennifer lowered her voice a little, and decided to eavesdrop.

"She's terrible, obviously, Johnny. I mean how could you?...I know you have a right to move on...I know you wished she had stopped shutting you out...We can't be friends anymore, Johnny, if you continue to date Tara. Cammie is my best friend, and your bitch of a girlfriend wronged her...Goodbye, Johnny...NO! I will not call you 'John'!" Jennifer yelled.

I dried off my face as Jennifer angrily hung up her phone, and went out to see her.

"Don't act like you didn't hear every word I just said." Jennifer told me. "I'm going to go over there and kick his ass--maybe rearrange Tara's face!"

I laughed. "Jenny, honey, you're way too classy for that."

She sighed. "Fine. I am. Wanna play some angry video games?"

I nodded. "God, please."

****

I spent the next week hiding in my work. I did a press conference and endorsed new companies and some new products, and then came one of the most awkward and telling conversations I've probably ever had in my lifetime.

"Cammie?" Leonard asked.

I looked up from my desk. "Yes, Leonard?"

"Johnny Storm has an appointment to see you." He said.

I looked at him hard. "Who authorized that?"

"You signed off on it, yesterday." Leonard informed me.

I sighed and ran my fingers through me hair, knowing that it had been in teh pile of things thatJennifer had been getting me to sign yesterday. I swallowed and then nodded.

"Let him in." I said.

Leonard nodded at me, and then went out, Johnny coming in a few moments later after I'd smoothed out my clothes and checked my appearance in the mirror.

"Hi." He said softly.

"Hi." I replied, acting professional.

He nodded and looked me over, me doing the same thing to him, but we didn't say a word to each other for a good five minutes.

"We're not actually having sex." Johnny blurted out.

I tried not to look happy or hopeful, but he caught on.

"I don't care what you do with your personal life, Johnny." I told him, knowing that didn't sound sincere at all.

Johnny nodded. "I just needed you to know. It's just an image thing--I haven't actually ever touched her like that. I mean the opportunity has presented itself, but I just don't love her."

"And you don't love me either, so why do you care if I know or not?" I asked him strongly, trying to keep it together.

"What?" He asked me, looking at me funny. "Of course I still love you."

"Well you showed it well by breaking up with me." I told him.

Johnny sighed. "Cammie, I told you when I broke up with you, that if you couldn't let me all the way in, then I couldn't be with you."

"I can't tell you everything, Johnny." I said, knowing that I couldn't tell him about my father, because that would ruin everything.

"I told _you_ everything." He told me.

I took a deep breath and stood up from my desk. "There are things going on with me that you can't understand."

"Can't you let me understand? I miss you." He said.

"You have a girlfriend." I replied.

"She's not my girlfriend." He told me.

I nodded slowly, walking out from behind the desk. "She's not?"

He shook his head and walked over to me, kissing me. At first I thought it was my imagination, but it was real, and when I didn't respond, he pulled away.

"I'm sorry." He told me, and left my office.

I reached up and touched my lips, feeling like I was going to cry. He was putting so much of himself into a relationship we both wanted back, but I couldn't be honest with him, or I would lose him. What had I gotten myself into? When had I ever picked duty over love?

"Cammie? Jennifer is here to see you." Leonard announced, poking his head into my office.

I nodded sadly. "Please send her in quickly."


	11. Confessions and a Wedding Attempt

"I need to talk to Johnny, but I don't know how." I told Sue, eating some popcorn with her a week before her her wedding.

Sue smiled. "Why don't you just try? Jenny and I will finish the movie, and you go talk to him. You're both obviously miserable without each other."

I sighed. "Yeah."

I got up and went to his room, but when I got there, I was feeling a lot more scared than I had been feeling before. It was easy to talk the talk, but standing there outside his door was freaking me out now. I wanted to be with him, and to kiss him, and feel his touch again, but how could I when I was lying to him? When all this time I was pulling the wool over everyone's eyes? Taking a deep breath, I decided the distance was hurting me way too much, and I knocked on the door.

Johnny opened it, smiling a little at me as he saw me standing there, and then motioning for me to come in. I took a deep breath and looked around his room, smiling when I saw a picture of the two of us in a frame on his desk. He noticed me looking at it and nodded, and then put his hands in his pockets.

"How's the girls night movie?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "The movie's a little lame, but it's nice to spend time with Sue."

Johnny nodded, and then looked at me hard as I stepped up to him.

"Did you mean it when you said that you still loved me?" I asked him slowly.

"Of course I did." He said softly.

I nodded, and then I kissed him, smiling a little as he held me to him, kissing me back. I would have thought it was all a dream, but I knew from the neediness of the kiss that it was just us yearning for each other. Our hands strayed a little, and then I gasped slightly as our skin touched. We were breathing heavily when he started unzipping my suit, and then he nibbled on my neck.

"I haven't been completely celibate." I said.

Johnny stopped nibbling on my neck and nodded. "Me neither."

I nodded. "Two days after you broke up with me, I hit on Leonard, and a week after that I hooked up with some random guy at a bar, and I felt awful about it, and decided to focus on my work."

Johnny sighed. "I slept with Tara three weeks after we broke up."

I pulled away from him, removing his hands. "Excuse me? You told me you hadn't slept with her!"

"Honestly? I needed you to hear me out. I felt like a really crappy human being for sleeping with her after we were done, but I was upset, and I was a little drunk, and she was...well willing...and it happened." Johnny explained.

I nodded. "And then you started dating her...I take it back."

"What?" Johnny asked. "Come on, Cammie."

"No. You're a dick." I told him, zipping up my suit and buttoning up my shirt over it, fixing my hair and stepping away from him as he came towards me again. "This is the last time I listen to Jenny and Sue. Screw you, Johnny Storm."

"Cammie..." Johnny said as I left, but I waved my hand and went back to watch the movie.

One look at my face and Jennifer and Sue just nodded, and we watched the movie. Then I went home and I went to sleep, wondering why this was so hard. Why couldn't I have just talked to Johnny ages ago? Why couldn't I have come clean with what I was doing? Maybe he would have stopped me, but at least we would have talked. I sighed loudly, and then I went to sleep, waking up the next day and working until I realized I ahd to apologize. So, I headed to the F4 Headquarters and walked in while Johnny was convincing Reed to have a Bachelor Party that night.

"Seriously, Johnny, no Bachelor Party. It's just not my kind of thing." Reed told Johnny.

Johnny wheeled over to him. "Then do it for Ben. It would mean a lot to the big guy, you're gonna break his heart...he _does_ have some sort of rock-like heart, doesn't he?"

Reed wheeled back to the other monitor. "I've got too much to do before the wedding, and frankly I think Sue would have a problem with it."

As Johnny wheeled over in his chair to Reed again, Reed wheeled back over to where they had been, going over some schematics.

"You know what I think Sue would have a problem with? If somebody told her that you were actually investigating global disturbances and cosmic radiation instead of actually focusing on the wedding like you promised..." Johnny said.

Reed wheeled over to him slowly as I put my hands in my pockets, ready to interrupt them.

"A bachelor party could be fun. But no exotic dancers!" Reed told him.

Johnny made a face and I rolled my eyes.

"So...you guys are looking into the global disturbances then?" I asked.

Johnny looked up hurriedly and Reed smiled.

"Of course we're not." Reed said.

I smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I'm here to apologize to Johnny actually."

"Really? I'd like to hear this." Johnny said.

"Should I...?" Reed asked, but I shook my head.

"Don't worry, I'm here to say that I'm sorry for getting mad at you for sleeping with someone while we were broken up...even if it was my arch nemesis." I told Johnny.

Johnny nodded. "You're sorry you called me a dick?"

I shook my head. "No, no...you're still a dick. That's all I came to say--Reed? Go to the bachelor party."

With that I waved and left, and went to hammer some more details with Sue, and then I headed over to Tara's. She opened the door and I punched her in the face before I went back home, and then I laid on my bed for a long while before I went to the club I knew Johnny would take Reed to, and ran into Sue.

"Wow. General?" I asked.

General Hager looked at me. "Cameron Doom."

"They're here for Reed." Sue explained.

I nodded. "All right...I'll just go home and see you tomorrow then. Nevermind."

I turned to leave but knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"You can come to, Cameron--we know all about your ice powers." General Hager told me.

I nodded. "Of course you do."

General Hager nodded and we went into the club to fetch Reed, who was dancing in the middle of a huge group of people with a lady on each arm.

"That's him." General Hager said.

"Yes. Unfortunately." Sue replied. "For him."

I laughed a little. "Yeah."

We got Reed, Johnny and Ben and followed General Hager a handful of his men to discuss the anomalies. I tuned them out a little to watch Johnny kind of hit on the female lieutenant with General Hager, and then I looked up as surprised as anyone when Reed said he couldn't build the sensor because he was getting married on Saturday. Then I left as Johnny hit on the girl and she told him she wasn't interested, and I readied myself for Saturday.

****

The day of the wedding, I got all dressed up and pretty, and sat with Alicia and Sue, readying ourselves for anything. I even had my phone on vibrate because Leonard was supposed to call about Dad. I sighed as I looked in the mirror, and Sue smiled at me.

"Don't let Johnny's date get you down." Sue said.

I rolled my eyes. "She said 'fireproof underwear and lots of aloe vera'. She's such a skanky whore!"

Alicia laughed. "Sounds like someone's still in love with Johnny Storm."

I shrugged. "Maybe just a little, but this is Sue's day. You look beautiful."

"Go talk to Johnny, so you guys aren't fighting with your eyes at my wedding, and I'll talk to Alicia. Go. Seriously. You've done so much for me already, Cam." Sue said.

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "No matter what, you and Reed can have children, and raise them in this world. I know you, Sue, and I know that you want a family."

Sue sighed, smiled a little, and then I went off in search of Johnny, finding him rather quickly, running right into him.

"Good morning." I told him.

Johnny nodded and smiled a little. "Good morning to you too, Cammie."

"Where's your date?" I asked.

Johnny shrugged. "In her seat? Yours?"

I shrugged too. "I didn't bring one...I just brought myself."

"Really?" Johnny asked me after a pause. "Just yourself?"

I nodded. "Just myself. Look...I'm sorry I called you a dick. I mean I'm still upset, but you had every right to move on. I can't be mad at you for who you chose."

"We're not going to work...are we?" Johnny asked me sadly.

"Well...love isn't always enough." I told him. "Sometimes reality just kind of beats us, you know?"

Before Johnny could respond, I went back into the room with Sue and Alicia, helping Sue with her dress and her checking that everything was in its perfect place.

"I'm gonna cry." I told her. "I've known you since I was little, and you're getting married."

Sue smiled and hugged me. "Whether you're with Johnny or not--and I still don't think he deserves you--you're my little sister, Cam."

"And you're my older sister, Suzie." I told her. "Forever."

"Forever." She whispered, and then she and I went out to wait to walk down the aisle, Ben there.

"So...Blonde Ambition and Alicia are waiting at the entrance." Ben said.

I nodded. "I'll go get into place, and you two talk, and then meet us."

Ben nodded at me and turned to Sue, and then I went ahead and walked into an awkward conversation.

"I think it upsets you to see him really happy and in love. I think you're jealous." Alicia told Johnny, smelling her bouquet.

Johnny scoffed and looked at his champagne. "Jealous? Have you seen the women I've dated?"

Alicia stopped smelling the flowers. "No. You can only kid yourself for so long, Torch."

"We're pretty much ready here." I said, smiling a little awkwardly as Johnny looked at me with a sad look in his eyes.

Alicia nodded. "Sounds good."

"Your..." Johnny began, and then he stepped up to me and fixed a pin in my hair, both of us making eye contact.

I held my breath for a moment and Johnny started to lean in, but then Ben and Sue showed up.

"Tada!" Ben said.

Johnny smiled at his sister. "It's the bride of Stretchy Man!"

Sue smiled. "Awww, don't start."

"Don't listen to him, you look beautiful." Ben assured her.

"Thank you." Sue said.

"Let's leave these two to talk a little." I told them.

Ben nodded. "See you out there. Let's go."

Alicia took his arm and I followed them out, looking at Johnny one last time and giving Sue a reassuring smile before I went down the aisle to take my place by the altar. The ceremony was going rather beautifully, but then Reed's handheld went off and the wedding became a disaster when a disturbance began to happen. Ben saved Alicia, Sue had to make a forcefield to stop the helicopter's blades from killing anyone, and Johnny protected me before Reed told him to go see what was flying in the sky.

"This is dulche." Johnny protested.

Reed gave him a look and then Johnny sighed.

"I'll go too." I said.

Johnny turned to me. "No. Stay here and help them. I'll be back."

I sighed. "I'm totally not helpful at all."

"Flame on!" Johnny exclaimed, and then he took off after whatever was in the sky.

I turned to see Sue and went to her, sitting down next to her and holding her as she broke down. Poor Sue looked like she was never going to get her wedding...and I didn't know if I was ever going to get Johnny Storm.


	12. Yay for Sexual Tension

I had hurried to the Baxter building with the others to make sure that Johnny was all right.

"He looked like a man, but completely covered in silver. And he was flying this like…" Johnny made motions with his hands, "…like a surfboard type thing, and I know that sounds crazy."

I sat down next to Johnny as Sue handed him water, and looked at General Hager as he listened to Johnny recount what happened.

"Oh, no. So did you follow the shiny man to Lollipop Junction or Rainbow Mountain?" Ben asked with a laugh.

"Look, I know what I saw." Johnny told him irritably.

"Thank you." Reed told Ben, holding up his hand. "It's all right, Johnny. Whatever this thing's physical appearance, it has the ability to convert matter _and_ energy." Reed explained.

I nodded. "So it has to be tied to the anomalies, right?"

"It caused them." General Hager said.

"When it exerts itself it seems to _randomly_ affect matter." Reed explained. "Evidently this entity…this…Silver Surfer? Didn't want to be detected. It…destroyed the sensor."

"It knew it was being monitored?" Sue asked.

"And traced it back here. We're dealing with something highly resourceful." Reed told General Hager.

I sighed as Johnny stood up. "That means that whatever it is, we have to find it before it makes another giant hole in the ground."

Johnny groaned a little and Sue and I looked up at him.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sue asked him.

"Yeah…just…I gotta walk this off." Johnny said.

Sue and I both stood up, but I let her follow him because she was his sister, and I turned to General Hager as he turned to Reed.

"We have to destroy this thing before it attacks again." General Hager said.

I sighed. "Does everything have to be violent?"

General Hager shot me a look then turned to Reed again. "Richards, find me another way to track it."

"Can't you just find it and talk to it? Or like, him, and talk to him?" I asked. "Come on!"

General Hager and Captain Frankie Raye kept walking to leave, with their other man, and then I went to find Johnny while Sue talked to Reed.

"Johnny?" I asked.

Johnny sighed. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for protecting me today." I told him.

He smiled a little. "You have to protect what you love."

I nodded. "I know. You also have to forgive what you love."

Johnny nodded. "I uh…I need to take care of something."

I knew he was just saying it to not let me see him in a weakened state, but when he tried to fly off of the balcony, he fell in a ball of flame, and I freaked out.

"Johnny!" I cried.

I hurried down the stairs and outside, to where Sue was already to him, and he seemed frazzled, but not too badly injured.

"Johnny, are you okay?" Sue asked him.

Johnny took deep breaths. "I don't know. I've felt really strange ever since I ran into Surfer Boy."

"Maybe we should get you checked out." Sue said, touching his forehead.

The moment she did though, something happened and she was suddenly on fire.

"Why'd you do that?" Sue demanded, trying to get the flames to stop.

"I didn't do anything!" Johnny assured her hurriedly as the crowd around us on the sidewalk began to panic. "Stop, drop and roll! Stop, drop and roll!"

Sue started screaming and I looked at Johnny who tried to 'Flame on', but went invisible.

"Oh my God…you switched powers." I said, and looked at Sue as she was flying, not being able to control it, and yelling at Reed outside the window.

Reed came outside and I flew up to touch Sue but she told me not to.

"Not until I figure out what's wrong!" Sue said.

"Touch her again!" I told Johnny.

Johnny did as he was told and they switched back, Sue naked on the ground getting her photo taken, Johnny happy to have his flames back.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Sue asked while she was invisible so people couldn't snap pictures of her naked behind anymore.

****

After some tests, we all congregated back in the lab, Reed telling us what he'd found out.

"All of Sue's results were normal, but Johnny's…" Reed said.

Johnny looked at him. "Johnny's what?"

Reed looked at him excitedly. "Your encounter with the surfer has affected your molecules. They're in a constant state of flux."

Johnny nodded as Reed went back to his microscope and at the same time even though he was more upset and I was more scared, he and I asked, "Is that bad?"

Reed looked at him again. "Well, it caused you to temporarily switch powers with Sue. Ideally I'd like to run some more tests."

"I'll volunteer." Ben said, going to Johnny and putting his drink down.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Johnny, Sue, Reed and I said over and over as Ben got closer to him.

"No! No! Hey!" Johnny said, getting on the counter top a little. "This is serious!"

Ben turned to Reed. "I just wanted to give him a hug."

"We don't know the extent of his condition, yet." Sue told Ben firmly yet softly.

Reed nodded. "It could be progressive, it could be degenerative—"

"—it could be fun." Ben said.

"No, Ben!" Reed protested, but Ben had already touched Johnny and switched powers with him.

Sue and I looked at Ben. "Ben!"

"Hey! Hey, it's me!" Ben said, and we were looking at Ben Grimm the man, not Ben Grimm, the Thing. "I'm back!" He exclaimed, patting out a flame on his shoulder.

We smiled a little, but then we looked at Johnny again and I had to hold back a laugh as I looked at him pretty much made of rock. He felt his rock arms and then grabbed a mirror, looking at himself.

"Oh, my, GOD!" He said, looking at Ben. "Come on! We just said this is serious!"

Ben backed away a little and laughed. "Yeah. Serious."

Reed walked up to him and Johnny looked in the mirror again.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Johnny said, upset ad Ben kept laughing and pointing, and then he snapped his fingers and got some flames.

I smiled a little. "It was fun while it lasted; now give Johnny his powers back, Benny."

"Hey not bad." Ben said, looking at his finger.

"Incredible." Reed said, looking Johnny over.

Johnny looked at him. "Reed, you better be able to fix this!"

"I'm right on it. Try not to—" Reed began, but Johnny got a fireball in the face.

"Ben, stop it!" Sue scolded.

I sighed. "Give him his powers back, Benny!"

"I'm starting to see why you like that." Ben told Johnny. "Ha!"

Johnny headed for him and though Ben protested, Johnny touched his shoulder and they got their old powers back.

"Aww, crap." Ben said, his deep rocky voice back.

"That's not funny!" Johnny told him after looking his arms over and then turning to Reed, Sue and I. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

Reed sighed. "Just, uh…try to keep your distance from us."

Johnny made a face and then started to leave the room and I went to the research as Ben called after him, "You and me are going to be spending quite a lot of time together, pal!"

****

A few hours later I was into my third cup of coffee, and Johnny came into the lab.

"I uh—I was looking for Reed." Johnny said.

I looked up and smiled a little. "He's with Sue. She's freaking out over all the press coverage again."

Johnny nodded and turned to leave, but then turned back to me. "So what are you doing in here?"

"Going over the tests again." I replied.

He smiled. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I want to know that you're going to be okay."

Johnny walked up to me. "Seriously? You've been couped up in here for the last four hours trying to figure out if I'm going to be okay?"

"Of course I have. If Reed thinks there's potential for this to be serious, then we have to take every precaution, and make you better." I told him. "I can't have you leaving me too."

Johnny reached out and stroked my hair and our powers switched.

"Johnny…" I said, but he shook his head.

"I was so mad at myself for leaving you." He told me.

I smiled sadly. "You shouldn't have been—I stopped letting you in. I was so mad at myself for that. I just…I wasn't the same after you guys had to fight Dad, and I didn't even help you, and then I got that job at the company, and everything in the world turned against us, and I just kind of thought that maybe if we gave in our relationship wouldn't be so hard to control."

Johnny kissed me and ours powers switched back.

"I can understand anything." Johnny said.

I nodded. "I know you can."

The truth was that I knew that he wouldn't forgive me for helping out my father, but I returned the next kiss anyways as I got Johnny's flame powers.

"What if this is serious?" I asked him softly.

Johnny nodded. "I shouldn't be exposing you." He took a step back. "Not when I love you so much."

"We both control our powers at our core, so what can it hurt?" I asked hurriedly, and kissed him again, getting my ice powers back when we touched.

Johnny returned the kiss needily, and I held onto him, both of us knowing we needed this.

"You're my match." I told him.

Johnny smiled and nodded. "And you're mine."

I smiled and kissed him tenderly, loving that he was deepening the kisses. His right hand went into my hair, his left hand traveling down to my jeans. I nodded a little as the kisses slowed, our powers switching every time we stopped touching each other and then decided to continue. All the while, it was like he was asking permission, and soon I felt my zipper being slid down. Johnny ran his nose along mine and we made eye contact, and then we kissed again, but as his left hand started to travel into my pants I pulled away and shook my head.

"Johnny…" I breathed.

"Cammie…" He replied.

I sighed. "I want to…I _really_ do…but we can't."

"Because of my condition since the Surfer touched me." He said.

I laughed a little. "No, because it's here…in Reed's lab. As hot as it might be for you to think that we could have sex in here, I don't want Reed, Ben or Sue walking in on us having sex in here…especially when we're not supposed to be touching."

Johnny nodded and pulled away from me, and I zipped up my jeans, smiling a little.

"At least we know that the sexual tension is getting better every time we're near each other." I joked.

Johnny smirked. "Don't you mean worse?"

I shook my head. "I meant better."

I kissed him tenderly again and then started to leave.

"What was that for?" He asked.

I turned to him and made an ice rose in my hand, tossing it to him and smiling when he caught it.

"I needed my powers back, silly." I replied, and then winked when he smiled.

****

After eating something, I met up with Ben and Alicia in the building, Johnny coming in and complaining that Sue and Reed were going to quit.

"What are we supposed to do without them?" Ben asked.

"I could join the team—we could be a trio." I said.

Johnny smiled a little. "You've tried really hard to keep your powers a secret. If you come out, Tara wins."

I sighed. "Skanky whore totally outted me to the world, then I covered it up, and coming out means that I have to admit to the public that I hushed it up."

I sat down next to Alicia who took my hand and I smiled at her and rested my head on her shoulder.

"When were they planning on telling us?" Ben asked.

"They'll tell you when they're ready to tell you." Alicia told them. "You can't be mad at them for wanting a normal life."

"Who wants normal?" Johnny asked.

I shrugged. "Well someday I'd like to have kids and get married…but I dunno if I want normal exactly."

I looked at my cell phone as it rang, and I gasped—it was Dad.

"What?" Johnny asked.

I looked at him and smiled hurriedly. "What? Oh nothing. It's Leonard. I have to take this."

I got up and mentally cursed myself for lying to Johnny, and then went out of the building.

"Hey, Dad." I said.

"Hey, Kiddo. I made contact with the metallic man…and I got my old body back." He told me.

I was stunned. "You touched him?"

"No, no. He shot me with his power and I regenerated completely." He explained.

I smiled. "That's awesome, Dad!"

"I want you to get in touch with General Hager for me." He told me, not skipping a beat.

"Straight to the point, aren't you?" I asked him.

He laughed. "I just want to be in on whatever Reed is going to do about this guy. I think I can help."

I nodded. "All right. I'll pull some strings."

"I guess I was wrong when I told your mother not to be friends with him." Dad said softly. "Oh well. Call me when you've spoken to him."

"Yeah. Bye, Dad…I love you." I told him, smiling a little just happy to hear him.

Dad took a breath. "Good luck, Cammie."

He hung up, and though I was upset he didn't tell me he loved me too, I couldn't dwell on it because I had to get to work. So I said 'goodbye' to everyone and took off, Leonard greeting me.

"Your father is getting ready to head back from Greenland now, Miss Doom." Leonared informed me.

I nodded. "That's perfect, thank you Leonard. Oh, and Leonard?"

Leonard stopped walking out the door and turned to me. "Yes?"

"Please don't mention to Dad about me hitting on you, all right? I like to block out the more stupid moments of my life." I explained.

Leonard nodded. "Don't worry…I want to keep my job."

I laughed a little and nodded, sending him out and then going into my office and looking around. I was finally getting closer to Johnny and now my father was back. Could things get any worse?


	13. Finally Caving to the Sexual Tension

I smiled when Dad walked into the house that night and he smiled too. It was obvious that we were both happy to see each other, but neither of us moved once we saw each other. We just smiled, and looked each other over.

"You look fantastic, Dad." I told him, standing up from my perch on the couch.

He nodded. "You do too, Cammie."

I hurried over to him and hugged him, surprised a little that he hugged me back. He was not only home, but back from a meeting with General Hager, and I wanted to know how it had gone, but wasn't quite sure how to ask him that. We pulled away a little and he pushed some hair out of my face and smiled a little more.

"I see you've been running the company incredibly well." He said.

I nodded. "Yeah…Leonard's been a big help."

"I bet he has." Dad replied. "Is he the only one who knows about me being back besides the General?"

"Of course he is—you don't actually think I've told Sue, Johnny, Ben or Reed do you?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. "I mean I'm barely holding together a _friendship_ with Johnny right now. Wait…I did tell Jenny—but Jenny understands me and doesn't judge me based on what I do."

"Like Johnny does." Dad said.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…except I don't blame him. He's been through a lot, and I haven't been fully truthful, and I think that he needs someone who won't do one thing and say another like I do."

Dad hugged me. "I hate that you think _you_ have to work for _him_. You don't, Cammie. You're superior to him, and he hurt you. He walked away from you because you didn't tell him about me, but why should you have? He doesn't own you."

I looked up at him. "But Johnny and I were in a relationship, Dad. I owed him honesty."

"Sure…but at what price?" He asked. "You did what you thought needed to be done and if he really cared about you the way you cared about him, he would have been able to trust you—he would have been able to trust that you had a reason for what you were doing, and that when the time was right you'd include. But he didn't. He took off on you and slept with your ex best friend."

I smiled a little. "Thanks for the pep talk, Dad—now what did General Hager say?"

"He said that Reed found out the coordinates of the next crater. It's going to appear in London, and I'm officially on the case. Apparently eight days after this thing appears on a planet, the planet dies." Dad explained.

I took a step back from him. "Eight days? Dead planet? We should go to London and help them."

Dad nodded. "All right. I'll go if you want me to."

I smiled and took his hand. "Of course I do, Dad."

When we got to see General Hager, Dad wanted to wait outside, and I saw General Hager yelling at Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben. The crater they were supposed to stop had in fact been made anyways, and General Hager was not pleased. To make the situation worse, Dad was right outside and I didn't have any time to tell Johnny that I was partly responsible for him being back—that I was responsible for shipping him off to Greenland and keeping him stable over there.

"Next time?" General Hager scoffed. "There is no next time."

"Come on, General." I tried, and everyone looked at me as I entered the room.

He shook his head. "No, Cameron. We both know they can't handle this alone—that's why you helped me to get them more help."

"What does he mean that you helped?" Johnny asked me.

"General, you bringing in more soldiers and weaponry are going to put more innocent people in danger." Reed protested.

"No more than you already have." Dad said, entering the room and startling people.

I closed my eyes and sighed as Reed breathed his name. "He means that I helped him by bringing in my dad."

"What's the matter?" Dad laughed. "Afraid of ghosts?"

Ben growled and went at him, slamming him into a wall and gripping his throat. "Since you're a ghost, you won't mind if I break your little neck."

"I mind!" I yelled. "He came in contact with the Surfer and got his appearance back, and he can help us, all right?"

"How long have you known he was alive?" Johnny asked me while everyone stared at me and General Hager told his men to stand down with their guns.

I turned to look at him. "Since you guys all thought you'd defeated him. I had Leonard oversea that the cargo with Dad in it got to Greenland safely, and that doctors were there waiting for him to keep him stable. He may have gone a little crazy, but he's still my flesh and blood…and with the world being in danger of not existing…we need all the help we can get."

Johnny looked at me with anger and disappointment and then looked away from me.

"He's here under my orders." General Hager told Reed.

I turned to Ben, trying not to cry. "Please let him go, Ben."

Ben let him go and I went to Dad's side, helping him up as he coughed. He wiped himself off as General Hager told Reed that we needed Dad's information from her reauzdevous with the Surfer, and Dad brushed my bangs out of my face before walking towards Johnny, Sue and Reed while I stood there as Ben sent me looks I didn't want to be aware he was sending me.

"The information that I have just might save the world." Dad told them. "Now let's be clear about this, shall we? I hate you…all of you." He added, looking directly at Sue and then at Johnny. "But…the world's at stake, and we need to work together to survive."

"General, we know first hand; you trust Viktor and you're going to regret it." Reed started as Dad rolled his eyes.

"So far the only one I've regretted trusting here Richards, is you." General Hager replied.

I ran my hand through my bangs and over my ponytail. "Stop with the hostility—everyone. This isn't about petty squabbles and personal problems—this is about the world. We can act out our own personal soap operas later, but right now we have to figure out a way to save our planet…unless we don't care if we don't have it anymore. Who wants to live on Pluto?"

"No reason to get bitchy." Johnny said.

"I don't appreciate you talking to my daughter like that." Dad told Johnny as I put my hand down.

Johnny nodded. "Well I don't appreciate you talking to me at all."

"Reed—don't agree to this!" Ben told him. "Cam—how could you let him back in like this?"

"Let's just…see what he's got." Reed said.

Ben reluctantly nodded, and we all went into a large movie theater and Johnny sat in the very front while the others mulled over it farther up. Since he was sitting on the left end, I sat next to him and he sighed loudly.

"Why are you even here?" Johnny asked.

"Cause I care about saving the world." I told him.

Johnny nodded. "I meant next to me."

"Johnny…" I began, but he shook his head so I stopped.

"I knew there was something really big that you were keeping from me, but I had no idea that it was this big? What the Hell is wrong with you, Cammie? Can't you see that he's a monster?" Johnny asked me.

I swallowed as the footage played in front of us. "You know more than anyone what it's like to be without a father, Johnny."

"My father wasn't a monster before he died." Johnny replied.

I nodded. "I know…but if you had a chance to be with him again wouldn't you try?"

"Of course I would—but my father never tried to take over the world. What? Do you think you can change him or something?" Johnny asked me.

I wiped away the single fallen tear off of my cheek. "I changed you, didn't I?"

****

Jennifer smiled at me when she got back to the house and then sighed when she saw me in a tank top and sweatpants eating junk food and watching a sad old movie.

"Wow…what happened to you today?" Jennifer asked me.

"General Hager wanted to see Dad today and so he showed himself to Sue, Reed, Johnny and Ben today before I had a chance to come clean to them about everything." I explained.

Jennifer made a face. "Ouch. I'm sorry, honey."

I nodded. "Me too…I just…I'm sitting here waiting to figure out the perfect thing to say to Johnny. He and Ben are going out for drinks and I want to go there and confront him—public place so he can't set me on fire, you know?"

Jennifer nodded and sat down next to me, hugging me. "I know. So how about you go change into something cute, pull your hair back so it looks like you mean business, and then go talk to him. The sooner you have this cleared up, the sooner you two are sleeping together, and the sooner you're happy—which makes everyone else happy."

"You should have seen the look on everyone's faces! Sue won't even speak to me, which hurts the hardest. I'm a little upset Ben and Reed want nothing to do with me, and I'm devastated about Johnny wanting me to just get out of his life for good, but…Sue's like family. You and Sue are my girls." I explained.

Jennifer nodded. "I know, Cam—I know. So…go talk to Johnny. You know you want to."

I turned the movie off and kissed Jennifer's cheek, going upstairs and changing and heading out to a bar, glad I'd picked the right one. Ben was drinking a beer in a blue and white jacket, and Johnny was playing darts. People knew who I was by looking at me, but I kept my head bowed and just listened to Johnny as he talked to Ben—I needed the perfect "in".

"How can we be working on the same side as Viktor?" Johnny asked Ben, tossing a dart at the dartboard.

"You got me pal. Things were a lot easier when I could just wail on the guy." Ben replied.

Johnny nodded. "I can't believe that Cammie lied to me all this time about him being alive too."

Johnny was so frustrated that he accidentally lit the dart he was using on fire, and threw it at the dartboard. He hurriedly grabbed his dart and doused the flame, everyone looking at him and stopping what they were doing. He turned to the manager at the bar and they exchanged smiles, Johnny not noticing I was there.

"I'll pay for that." Johnny told him, and then started taking the darts out. "I'll tell you, Ben, I'm starting to feel like a complete screw-up."

"Hey, hey, hey—you're not a _complete_ screw-up." Ben said.

Johnny nodded and went back to his mark to throw some more darts. "Thank you."

"Look, Kid, it's out of our hands." Ben continued. "It's up to the eggheads now."

"You think Reed's right?" Johnny asked, tossing a dart. "About the whole…end of the world thing?"

Ben looked contemplative. "He's never been wrong about this kind of thing before."

Johnny sat down across from him. "You know I'm not exactly a deep kind of guy."

"Really?" Ben asked when I wanted to protest that sometimes he was.

Johnny leaned on the table a little as I took a couple steps towards them, and hovered over his beer bottle. He looked troubled and I wanted to fix it all for him, but I knew I couldn't. The only thing I could do for him now was to be honest and leave the ball in his court. I'd caused him enough pain already.

"But if Reed's right, and this is it…how do you want to spend your last few minutes?" Johnny asked Ben.

"Part of me would like to go out fighting." Ben said, and then smiled a little when I got closer to the table. "But the truth is…I'd like to spend my last couple moments…holding Alicia."

Johnny nodded and leaned back in his chair. "That sounds pretty good. I mean, not the whole, holding Alicia thing. That's, you know—you're girlfriend, not mine—I want nothing to do with her. Not to say that she's not attractive—she's very attractive." Johnny said, trying to make his statement mean what he wanted it to. "I mean she's…_so_ attractive…even with the…you know." Johnny said, motioning to Alicia being blind. "I can't even think of a guy that wouldn't wanna—"

Johnny stopped as Ben pounded the table, and I jumped a little but kept quiet, stopping in my tracks to listen to what Johnny had left to say before I told him what I was feeling.

"What I meant…was that it's just nice to have somebody." Johnny said. "Even though Cammie kept this thing from me and it was huge…I made a mistake leaving her. This love thing is new to me, and I understand her need for her father—they were getting closer together before we went up in space. She's the kind of person that needs to save people and I get that—I just wish that she's let Viktor slide on her whole forgiveness kick."

Ben nodded. "Well…you got me, pal."

Johnny smiled and raised his beer bottle to clink Ben's large glass and I stood next to the table as they each took a drink and then looked at me.

"If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Johnny…you can have me too." I told him. "Presumptuous, I know, but—"

I couldn't finish what I was going to say though, because Johnny was up and kissing me. Ben made a noise of protest because of the Surfer touching Johnny, but I could care less about that. Johnny Storm was mine, and I was his—it was the way it should be.

****

I smiled as I looked up that night and found Johnny Storm crawling in through my window. I went over and helped him in, immediately kissing him. We missed it being the two of us, and after a round of beer with Ben at the bar and talking everything out, we finally felt pieced back together—at least mostly pieced back together.

"What are we doing?" Johnny asked me.

I smiled. "I thought we were going to have sex, honestly."

Johnny smiled and stroked my hair. "Are you should we should risk that in my condition?"

I nodded. "Most definitely."

Johnny nodded too, and kissed me, letting me unbutton his buttons. He undid his belt and slid it out of the belt loops, his hands then going to rest on my hips after his button-up shirt slid off of his arms. He guided me back over to my bed, me sitting on it and bringing him down on top of me.

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked.

I looked at him, cocking my head to one side as he stroked my hair. Why was he asking so many questions? This was Johnny Storm—he was all action and no talk. Well at least with me it had been mostly action and little talk. Suddenly he was nervous…was it just because of our switching powers and his contact with the Surfer, or was it something deeper?

"Do you _not_ want to have sex with me?" I asked him.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Of course I want to have sex with you, Cammie, I just…what if we do this and I infect you with whatever it is that the Surfer gave me?"

I smiled a little and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing my face closer to his. "Johnny…I wouldn't care if you infected me with whatever he infected you with. Life without you sucks—trust me I've tried to live it that way—and just in case this thing is fatal, I wanna go out with you."

Johnny kissed me softly and then Eskimo-kissed my nose. "We haven't done this dance in a while."

"That we have not." I replied with a smirk. "But I'm sure it's just like riding a pony."

Johnny chuckled at my analogy, and then kissed me again. The kiss was a little needier than before, and soon we were down to our birthday suits and under the covers of the bed, kissing each other, our hands roaming. We were only certain of one thing: we were going to do this whether people thought it was wrong or not. So, with a smile and eye contact, Johnny merged with me and I tilted my head back a little.

"I love you, Cameron Von Doom." He whispered kissing my neck as his body slid against mine.

I smiled as I held onto him. "I love you, Jonathon Storm."

"I'll never leave you again." He promised.

"I'll be more truthful." I whispered.

Johnny smiled at me, and we kissed, silencing each other. Our bodies moved as one as we found our way back to what we were missing, and soon we felt as if we'd never been apart.


	14. VERY IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****:**

_**Hey guys.**_

_**I have some bad news…**_

_**So last night my laptop died…and I haven't backed it up for two months.**_

_**What does that mean?**_

_**That means I have lost a whole lot.**_

_**That means I have no new updates and probably won't for a while.**_

_**I'm on my mother's computer right now and I don't know when I'm gonna get my laptop fixed or when I'm gonna get my documents back.**_

_**They think that since it's a driver/hardware problem they can fix it and recover my stuff.**_

_**We'll see.**_

_**Mom and I have fixing it on the highest priority—we're trying to get it done by Tuesday, but I don't know.**_

_**For those of you that don't know, I am going to Pennsylvania bright and early on the 22**__**nd**__**, and won't be back until the 28**__**th**__**.**_

_**However we also just got a new place and will be moving in there when I get back and I won't have Internet access until a week after that…or longer depending on how severe this laptop problem is.**_

_***makes a not happy face***_

_**I just wanted to let you guys know that it could be a while before I get anything updated at all and I'm kind of really messed up over it.**_

_**I seriously HATE losing documents.**_

_**I apologize that you guys have to wait forever again.**_

_**I love you all for your support of me.**_

**Kyla aka Pyro**


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